2009 (2) TMI 534 - Commissioner - Customs

Summary

Issues involved: Appeal against loading of value from declared value by Lower Authority u/s Rule 3(4) read with Rule 6 of Customs Valuation Rules, 2007.

Summary:
The appeal was filed by M/s. Turakhia Ferromet Pvt. Ltd. against the order passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs Group IV NCH, Mumbai, loading the value of goods from the declared value of US$ 400 PMT. The goods were supplied by AM International, Dubai, UAE, with the country of origin declared as Romania. The total quantity of goods in all 5 Bills of Entry was specified along with the total number of plates imported.

The Appellant contended that the order passed by the Lower Authority loading the value/unit price to US$ 892/M.T. was strongly challenged in the appeal memo. They argued that the impugned order resulted in a gross mis-carriage of justice as it relied on evidence not recognized by law. The Appellants also presented evidence to show that they were importing huge quantities of the same goods from the same suppliers, emphasizing that the negotiated price was the correct value.

Upon careful consideration of the evidence and documents, the Commissioner found that the Lower Authority did not properly consider the submissions made in the ex parte order. It was noted that no proper comparison with contemporaneous imports was made by the Lower Authority. The Commissioner referred to case laws supporting the Appellants' contention and concluded that the loading of the declared value should be set aside.

Additionally, the Commissioner highlighted that the Lower Authority failed to consider the evidence of the trend of International pricing and the quantities imported by other entities. The Commissioner set aside the order passed by the Lower Authority and directed the release of the goods to prevent further financial losses due to heavy demurrage charges incurred.