Collector Of Central Excise, Pune vs M/S Bajaj Tempo Ltd

The Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether reimbursement of advertisement expenses by a manufacturer from dealers is includible in the assessable value under the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Court held that such expenses, if initially incurred by the manufacturer and later recovered from dealers, do not form part of the assessable value unless claimed as a deduction. The invocation of the extended period of limitation under Section 11A(1) was also deemed inappropriate due to lack of suppression of facts by the manufacturer.