COMMR. OF CEX, COIMBATORE Vs. UNIVERSAL HEAT EXCHANGERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are all Revenue appeals against Order -in -Appeal No. 718 - 739/96 (CBE) dated 27.11.96. These appeals have been filed by the Revenue on the ground that the respondents have accepted the deposits without interest, therefore they have to pay duty on such national interest amount also.

(2.) Ld. S.D.R. appearing on behalf of the Revenue requested that all these cases may be remanded back for examining whether the value has depressed because of accepting the deposits on which there would have been national interest.

(3.) Ld. Counsel has invited out attention to paras 3 and 4 of the Order -in -Appeal which is extracted herein below: - 3. In the grounds of appeals filed by the appellants which are more or less similar, it has been claimed that the raw materials required for the manufacturing activities are being purchased generally and stored before purchase orders are received except for a few items of specific nature and that it is from this bulk stock that the appellants draw the materials for the manufacturing activity and that the purchases have not been made exclusively out of the advances received from the customers. Most of the appellants have categorically stated that they do not receive advance deposits from all the customers and that the quantum of advance is very low compared to the turn over of the company and that the price is uniform and does not vary for a particular item whether the customer pays advance or not and that once the prices are agreed to as per the contract the appellants are obliged to supply the goods at the same price even if the costs of raw materials vary. It has also been argued that the earnest deposit received was purely to ensure the contractual binding as per the Trade practice since the goods are tailor made and are not of the type which are mass -produced and delivered of the shelf and the amount of advance received is not taken into account while arriving at the contract price; therefore the question of the interest free advance influencing the price did not arise; Further such a concept had not been in their minds or the customers