2017 (4) TMI 366 - HC - Customs

Natural Justice - for the purpose of valuation of the part of the consignment, no notice was issued to the petitioner, though he was asked to segregate the consignment, as in the opinion of the department, it contained different material - Held that - the order dated 26-10-2015 assessing the value of the part of the goods imported deserves to be set aside for the reason that no opportunity of hearing was afforded to the petitioner before passing the order and the material relied upon therein was not confronted - As far as the second part of the consignment is concerned, it could not be assessed earlier as there was no definite opinion about the goods imported. The same having been received now in the form of test report from Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology, Lucknow, the value thereof is also required to be assessed - petition allowed - decided partly in favor of petitioner and part matter on remand.

Summary

Issues involved:
Dispute over valuation of imported consignment without opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

Analysis:
The petitioner imported a consignment declared as leftover stock of Plastic Film Plain/Flexible in variable size rolls. The department disputed the nature of the goods and assessed part of the consignment at a higher value without giving the petitioner an opportunity to be heard. The petitioner argued that the valuation was increased without confrontation of relevant material and contended that the department would not get the declared value if the goods were sold in the open market. The court ordered the valuation assessment to be set aside due to lack of opportunity for the petitioner to present their case.

Analysis:
Regarding the second part of the consignment, the valuation was pending as there was uncertainty about the imported goods. The court directed the assessment of the value based on the test report received from Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology, Lucknow. The entire consignment's value was to be determined by the competent authority after setting aside the previous valuation order.

Analysis:
The court emphasized the importance of providing a fair opportunity for the petitioner to present their case before any valuation assessment is made. The need for expeditious assessment of the consignment's value was highlighted, considering the time lapse since the goods were imported in June 2015. The petition was disposed of, and a future court date was set to address any outstanding issues raised in a previous order.