COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE vs M/S TCP LTD.

The Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether certain charges levied by manufacturers for containers are to be included in the valuation for excise duty under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Court referred conflicting decisions in Union of India v. Bombay Tyre International Ltd. and Commissioner of Central Excise, Pondicherry v. Acer India Ltd. to a larger bench for clarification on the interpretation of 'transaction value' and its relationship with Section 3 of the Act. The Court emphasized that excise duty is a levy on manufacture, and the measure of levy must be determined by statutory provisions, not merely by the nature of the duty itself.