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TMI Blog2009 (6) TMI 370X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d customs duty on the subject-import by suppressing the fact that the goods were used ones and by suppressing their actual value. Adjudicating the allegations in a Show Cause Notice issued to the assessee in this connection, the Commissioner demanded differential duty of Rs. 9,11,476/- from SASL and imposed a penalty of Rs. one lakh on them under Section 112(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 (the Act). An appeal filed by the assessee was disposed by the Tribunal vide Final Order No. 623/2001, dated 1-5-2001. The Tribunal found that the Commissioner had modified the Order-in-Original dated 8-11-2000 by a corrigendum dated 19-1-2001 enhancing the demand from Rs. 9,11,476/- to Rs. 9,71,128/- without affording an opportunity of hearing to the assesse ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... om Dubai for operations undertaken by it in terms of a contract with Oil India Ltd. for their Rajasthan Project. They had declared the value of the imported goods on the basis of Gross Book Value after applying their own scale of depreciation. It was indicated in the invoice that the value declared was only for customs purposes. The goods were subject to re-export and that the transaction did not involve outflow of foreign currency. SASL prepared inventory of the equipments owned by it at various locations and prepared a monthly report showing the Gross Book Value and the respective net book value of all such assets called the Fixed Asset Report. The Commissioner had adopted the Fixed Asset Report (FAR) for the month of December 1995 to col ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... en higher price in the 1995 register ignoring the lower price in the 1999 register. Since the GBV in respect of FAR 1995 were taken the same should have been taken in respect of all the goods. It was not open to the Commissioner to adopt only the higher values and reject the lower price. There was an excess demand of Rs. 3,11,260/- owing to the Commissioner adopting higher values of FAR 1995 and FAR 1999. The demand in excess of Rs. 6,59,868/- was not justified. 3. The goods had been examined by the customs before they were cleared; that the transaction did not involve sale and that the price declared was for customs purposes were declared in the invoice itself. It was open to the Department to verify the price declared and if the same was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o evade payment of duty. M/s. SASL have denied it and stated that they have declared the goods and also the correct value and produced the Essentiality Certificate from the Ministry of Petroleum. From the above analysis, it is clear that the value declared was not as per the existing orders relating to valuation of second-hand machinery. While they declared Rs. 50,01,545/- as the assessable value on the basis of their own scales of depreciation, the correct value should have been Rs. 79,34,958/-. It is also worth noting that out of the 32 items figuring in the Bill of Entry, for 18 items they presumed that the value is 'zero' on the basis of rates of depreciation which they were adopting. It is a well-known fact that under the Customs law, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of commercial nature between unrelated buyers. If the authorities suspected that the declared price was not genuine it was open to them to question the importers and ascertain the actual value. In the investigation it transpired that the appellants had declared the book value of the goods at the time of the import as per their records. It is nobody's case that the appellants had worked out the net book value at the time of filing declaration as per the records manipulated for the purpose and that the said records had not been maintained in the regular course of their day to day business. The appellants declared the price for the purpose of assessment in terms of its understanding of Section 14 of the Act. It cannot be held that the appell ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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