ORDER

1. In all these appeals, the pivotal issue involved is: is it permissible for the assessing officer under the Income Tax Act to adopt different methods of valuation of excise duty-paid raw material when purchased and the unconsumed raw material on hand at the end of the year?

2. The assessees are manufacturing units liable to excise duty. Under the MODVAT Scheme, they get credit for the excise duty already paid on the raw materials purchased by them and utilized in manufacture of excisable goods. When they manufacture the goods and sell them, the proportionate part of the MODVAT credit is set off against their excise duty liability. In each of these cases, the assessing officer took the view that the MODVAT credit that is available should be treated as an income or an advantage in the nature of a income, and, therefore, added back the said amount to the income of each of these assessees. The Commissioner of Income Tax in some of the cases agreed with the view of the assessing officer, and in some cases differed. However, when the matter came to the Tribunal, the Tribunal uniformly took the view that the MODVAT credit could not be added back to the income of the assessee.

3. U