In Brief
JSW Steel Ltd. manufactured goods under the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, and collected "Dharmada" (charitable donations) separately from customers on their invoices. The tax authority sought to include these donations in the assessable value for central excise duty. The manufacturer appealed, arguing Dharmada should not be part of the transaction value. The Supreme Court held that voluntary charitable donations collected as separate contributions cannot be included in the transaction value for excise duty assessment, distinguishing between the actual price of goods and separate donations. The appeal was dismissed, upholding the principle that assessable value excludes voluntary contributions.
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