2014 (1) TMI 1016 - AT - Customs

Waiver of pre-deposit of duty - Duty demand - Mis declaration of goods - Valuation of goods - Held that - At the time of clearance of the goods the transaction value has been rejected and the assessable value was taken on the basis of contemporaneous import made by other parties at the relevant time as per NIDB Data and the same has been accepted by the applicant accordingly. We further find that if two prices are available for the contemporaneous imports then lower contemporaneous import price is to be taken. As in this case, at the time of import, the assessable value was determined on the basis of the contemporaneous import available at that time therefore, the lowest value of the contemporaneous import is to be the assessable value - applicant has made out a case for 100% waiver of pre-deposit - Stay granted.

Summary

Issues:
Seeking waiver of pre-deposit of duty, interest, and penalty confirmed against the applicants and penalties on co-noticees.

Analysis:
The case involved the importation of goods by the applicants, where the declared value was not accepted by the adjudicating authority based on contemporaneous imports of similar goods during the period of 2006-2008. The applicants sought waiver of pre-deposit, arguing that no inculpatory statements were found during importation, and no additional payment was made to the foreign supplier. They contended that the goods were assessed based on contemporaneous imports available in NIDB data, and if prices of other importers were accepted, the lowest price of contemporaneous imports should be considered as the assessable value. The applicants also raised concerns about the limitation period and requested a remand to the adjudicating authority for further consideration.

On the contrary, the Revenue argued that there was a modus operandi to suppress the actual value at the time of import, leading to the enhancement of the assessable value by the adjudicating authority. However, the Tribunal examined the submissions and found that the assessable value was determined based on contemporaneous imports available at the relevant time, as per NIDB data. It was noted that if multiple prices were available for contemporaneous imports, the lower value should be considered. Therefore, the Tribunal concluded that the lowest value of contemporaneous imports should be taken as the assessable value in this case.

Considering the circumstances, the Tribunal held that the applicants had made a case for 100% waiver of pre-deposit. Consequently, the Tribunal granted the waiver of pre-deposit for the entire amount of duty, interest, and penalty, and stayed the recovery during the pendency of the appeals.