2024 (8) TMI 1062 - AT - Customs

Rectification of mistake in value declared at the time of filing of bill of entry - amendment of the value mis-declared due to omission on the part of supplier/appellant at the time of import - Section 154 Customs Act, 1962 - HELD THAT - Though there was considerable delay in seeking amendment of Bill of entries, since the goods were cleared provisionally, records will be available with the respondent to verify the facts for final assessment. Moreover, the amendment on the very same issue of value is directly connected with the investigation conducted by DRI and in such cases, the Department would have awaited the outcome of the DRI investigation before rejecting the request for correction/ amendment of the declared value. Considering the above, it is just and reasonable to set aside the impugned orders and remand the matter to the Adjudication Authority. The Adjudication Authority shall consider the outcome of the DRI investigation and if there is no allegation regarding misdeclaration of the value and no SCN is issued so far, considering the fact that the remedy of amendment under Section 154 was sought during the pendency of provisional assessment, the amendment as sought by the appellant shall be considered based on the outcome of the DRI investigation regarding unit price of the impugned imported goods and the provisional assessment should be finalised, accordingly, within a period of 3(three) months after the receipt of this final order, and appropriate order be passed in accordance with law after giving an opportunity of hearing to the appellant. Appeal allowed by way of remand.

Summary

Issues:
Rectification of mistake in value declared at the time of filing bill of entry.

Analysis:
The appeal concerns rectification of a mistake in the value declared at the time of filing the bill of entry for imported Telecom equipment. The appellant, a network service provider, imported goods with a unit price of 6299 USD but the overseas supplier erroneously mentioned the total price as 629900 USD. Due to a case by DRI, the goods were provisionally assessed and cleared on payment of Customs duty based on the incorrect invoice value. The appellant sought amendment of the bill of entry after realizing the mistake, but the request was rejected by the Adjudication Authority and the Commissioner (Appeals) citing ongoing investigation and premature claim. The appellant argued for rectification under Section 154 of the Customs Act, relying on relevant case laws.

The appellant emphasized the need for rectification under Section 154 of the Customs Act, supported by the decision in the matter of M/s. Volvo India Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Customs, Chennai, where the Tribunal allowed correction of errors in assessment. The appellant also referred to the decision affirmed by the High Court of Madras in a related case. However, the Revenue's Authorized Representative relied on a Delhi High Court decision regarding negligence leading to excess duty payment and a Tribunal decision emphasizing timely application for amendments under Section 149.

The Tribunal considered the arguments and precedents cited by both parties. It noted that the case laws referred to pertained to finalization of assessments, while the appellant's situation involved provisional clearance pending investigation by DRI on the valuation issue. Despite the delay in seeking amendment, the Tribunal found that the amendment request was directly linked to the DRI investigation's outcome. Therefore, it set aside the previous orders and remanded the matter to the Adjudication Authority to consider the DRI investigation's findings and finalize the provisional assessment within three months based on the corrected value, providing an opportunity for the appellant to be heard.