National Leather Cloth Manufacturing ... vs Union Of India & Anr

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's dismissal of the writ petition challenging the rejection of the refund claim for excess excise duty under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Court affirmed that the cost of packing materials, including polythene bags and hessian cloth, was not to be excluded from the assessable value as it was deemed normal trade practice. The Court also ruled that the refund claim was time-barred, thereby confirming the Adjudicating Authority's decision.