K.L. Rekhi, Member (T)

1. The common dispute in these three appeals is on determination of the assessable values of the goods manufactured by the appellants, for the charge of Central Excise duty.

2. The appellants manufactured figured and wired glass in the form of glass sheets. The subject of determination of assessable values of their goods has been a matter of controversy almost ever since the inception of their factory in 1964. The factory of the appellants is situated at Bansberia, a mofussil place in the district of Hooghly in West Bengal. This place is about 45 Kms. away from Calcutta city. Calcutta is the nearest wholesale market for the appellants' goods. The present Section 4 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, which deals with the question of valuation of the excisable goods, came into force w.e.f. 1.10.1975. The appellants followed rather an unusual method of billing their customers. They issued two invoices for each sale, one called the original invoice for that portion of the value which they claimed as the price of the goods themselves and the other called the supplementary invoice for the extra charges on account of special packing, laffa (jam-packing) ch