Stupendous Job by CBEC - More than 50 Clarifications given

By Vijay Kumar

WHILE I started this DDT lambasting the Board for its insensitive clarification, I cannot close this issue without expressing my unadulterated appreciation for the Board for the stupendous job it has done in clarifying more than 50 outstanding issues. The very thought that there are fifty issues which have been crying for Board's attention all these years itself is frightening.

Board has made public the decisions taken at the recent Tariff Conference organized by the Board. CBEC believes the technical issues and decisions taken by the Conference to be beneficial to the trade as well as departmental officers.

Every cog in the Board machinery which prepared this masterpiece of a document which will be much referred to in the years ahead, deserves rich encomiums.

Some of the decisions:

1. Assessment and Valuation-Non-adoption of Section 4A-Valuationof Goods-Clearances made to Depots by Cement Manufacturers: - The conference concluded that depot is a place of removal of the manufacturer under section 4(3)(c)(iii) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 from where cement is sold to the institutional/industrial buyers who are not covered under Rule 3 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. The conference was of the view that the valuation of goods in respect of clearances to industrial consumers even from the depot will be made under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and not under Section 4A of the Act ibid. The conclusion was reached in view of the fact that in case of institutional buyers purchasing goods, depot is only an extended arm of the manufacturer, being a place of removal.

2. Assessment and Valuation-Retention of Sales Tax Collected from Customers and Inclusion thereof in the Transaction Value: The conference concluded that any VAT, if retained would be added to the assessable value even if it is retained through the mechanism of adjustment against a subsidy payable under the scheme. Section 4 provides for abatement of taxes actually paid. Taxes can be considered to be paid for the purposes of granting abatement under Section 4 only if they are deposited with the exchequer.

DDT will cover the other issues in the coming days.

CBEC Instruction in F.No.96/85/2015-CX.I., Dated: December 07, 2015