2012 (8) TMI 382 - AT - Customs

Enhancement of import value of goods on the basis of contemporaneous imports - difference between the description of the goods - assessee contended the same to be of reject quality whereas test report held the impugned goods to be of Grade-I quality - Held that - The discrepancy has not been explained by the appellants. Further, a claim has been made by the appellants that they only ordered for the reject quality goods. This submission appears to have no substance as they have taken delivery of the impugned goods without returning the same to the suppliers, which was required to be done, if the suppliers were at fault in supplying a different quality of goods. Hence, enhancement confirmed. Further, when the quality of the goods itself has been misdeclared, the declared value requires to be rejected. The appeal is otherwise rejected except for reducing the redemption fine and penalty.

Summary

Issues:
1. Discrepancy in quality declaration of imported goods.
2. Determination of the value of imported goods.
3. Validity of redemption fine and penalty imposed.

Analysis:
1. The appellants imported viscose filament yarn in cake form, declaring it as reject quality at a unit price of US$ 2.1 per kg. However, the department's test report by SASMIRA, Mumbai, classified the goods as Grade-I quality. Discrepancies were noted between the Master Bill of Lading (Grade-A quality) and the House Bill of Lading (reject quality). The department proposed to enhance the value to US$ 2.5 per kg based on contemporaneous imports due to these discrepancies.

2. The adjudicating Commissioner approved a value of US$ 2.314 per kg for one Bill of Entry and US$ 2.31 per kg for three other Bills of Entry after analyzing all evidence. The Commissioner also confiscated the goods valued at over Rs.81 lakhs, imposed a redemption fine of Rs.8 lakhs, and a penalty of Rs.3 lakhs. The Tribunal found that the Commissioner's determination of value after detailed analysis required no interference.

3. The Tribunal rejected the appellants' argument that the declared value should be accepted for Customs purposes, citing the misdeclaration of goods' quality. The order rejecting the declared value was deemed in line with the Supreme Court's ruling in Collector of Customs, Calcutta Vs Sanjay Chandiram. While the redemption fine and penalty were initially upheld, considering the appellants' limited benefit and the excessive nature of the fines, the Tribunal reduced the redemption fine to Rs.2,00,000 and the penalty to Rs.1,00,000.

In conclusion, the appeal was rejected except for the reduction in the redemption fine and penalty as indicated, based on the detailed analysis of the quality discrepancy, value determination, and the imposition of fines and penalties in the case.