The Supreme Court last week dismissed the appeal of Salora International Ltd, manufacturer of various components of television sets, and ruled that it was liable to pay excise duty on the units sent to its branches in other parts of the country. The company manufactured components in its Delhi factory and checked each part. The sets were assembled and then disassembled and transported to other centres. There, the parts are reassembled and the complete units are made marketable goods. The question in this case was whether the components which are manufactured and then transported are in the category of ‘television receivers’ or ‘parts of television receivers’ for the purpose of central excise. The court held that the goods are ‘television receivers’ and not parts. All the parts of the television sets were assembled and thoroughly checked and marked and then only they were transported. “Once the receivers are assembled or are made completely finished goods, the manufacturing process is over and we are not concerned with as to what happens subsequently,” the court said.
SC allows completion of project
The Supreme Court last week set aside the judgment of the Bombay high court and allowed the Goa government to complete the development work in a Panjim residential colony, rejecting the claim to the land by M/s Real Estate Agencies. The open space in the area was not utilised and therefore the government undertook a project to develop it as a park and rain harvest pond. The developer objected to it, claiming that it owned the land. The Supreme Court noted that the project has already progressed to a great extent and therefore it could not be stopped. The property dispute can be decided in a separate suit, the judgment said.
Auction buyer cannot stop payment
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana high court and ruled that those who had accepted the offer of commercial plots in a public auction with a super-imposed condition, that is, on “as is where is”, cannot stop payment on the basis that infrastructure for the land had not been provided. “After having accepted the terms and conditions of the allotment letter, including instalment facility for payment, the purchasers cannot say that they are not bound by the terms and conditions of the auction notice, as well as that of the allotment letter,” the court stated in the judgment, Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority vs Raghu Nath Gupta. The court further stated that the buyers are liable to pay the interest, penal interest and penalty for the delayed instalments.
Excise demand on cars set aside
division bench of the Bombay high court has set aside two circulars of the excise authorities issued in July, 2002 and December, 2012 to the extent they state that cost of pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and free after sales services incurred by the dealers are includable in the assessable value of the vehicles. The court, in the judgment, Tata Motors vs Commissioner of Central Excise, ruled that this stand was violative of the provisions of the Central Excise Act. “We hold that as per Section 4(3)(d) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 the PDI and free after sales services charges can be included in the transaction value only when they are charged by the assessee to the buyer,” the high court said.
Gammon, NTPC appeals dismissed
The Delhi high court has dismissed cross appeals of Gammon India Ltd and National Thermal Power Corporation in their dispute over a 1988 contract for construction of two natural draft cooling towers at Kawas in Surat District, Gujarat, on a lump sum basis. There was substantial delay in the completion of the project. Gammon GIL claimed amounts on account of delays. The dispute was decided by a three-member arbitral tribunal which did not satisfy either side. A single judge interfered with the award and passed his own order. Both parties moved the division bench which stated that “we are of the view that the arbitral tribunal went beyond the specific terms of the contract and thus the single judge was right in interfering with th e same.”
