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TMI Blog2001 (10) TMI 633X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... plicant and accordingly a SCN was issued to the Applicant on 10-5-2000 for taking necessary action under the Customs Act. It was alleged in the SCN that the Applicant had imported a new car in the guise of an old car and mis-declared the value to evade customs duty. The value of air-conditioner of the car was also mis-declared. The SCN asked the Applicant to explain why the Mercedes Benz Car C-180 along with accessories seized on 29-11-99 should not be confiscated and why the value of the said car should not be fixed at Rs. 18,82,314/- and value of air-conditioner should not be fixed at Rs. 25,000 and why benefits of Public Notice No. 3(PL)/97-2002 should be denied to the Applicant and why penal action should not be taken under Section 112 of the Customs Act. The case has not been adjudicated so far and the Applicant has approached this Commission with a request to allow his car to be released on payment of duty as mentioned in the Bill of Entry filed by him and grant him immunity from prosecution and also waive fine and penalty and interest on the amount. 2. The Applicants were first heard on 29th May, 2001. Shri D.N. Mehta appeared on behalf of the Applicants and Shri Rajesh Va ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssioner (Inv.) was directed to ascertain from Bombay Customs House the assessable value adopted for the car of this model during the period of importation i.e. in or about October, 1999. 5. The Applicant had moved a miscellaneous application for provisional release of the car on 6-8-2001 and the same was heard by the Commission on 27th August, 2001 and after hearing both the sides, the Bench was of the opinion that provisional release was not necessary as it was in a position to dispose of the matter finally. However, the Applicant were directed to clarify how they had arrived at the value of the car in Indian rupees which did not tally with those declared in UK in the Bill of Entry. The Applicant was directed to clarify the position and furnish the evidence in support of that before the next hearing fixed for 10th September, 2001. 6. The Bench finally heard the case on 10th September, 2001. The Applicant again submitted that the value declared by him in Indian rupees should be accepted being the transaction value. He again quoted the following decisions of Court and Tribunal in support : 1. 2000 (122) E.L.T. 321 (S.C.) 2. 2000 (122) E.L.T. 791 (Tribunal) 3. 1994 (74) E ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e to find out the freight charged by Shipping Corporation for such a car from Dubai to India. Applicant submitted the original invoice as mentioned above on 19-9-2001. But the freight charges of Shipping Corporation of India was not found out either by the Applicant or by the Revenue. 11. We have gone through the submissions made by the Applicants in writing as well as orally at the time of hearings. We have also gone through the submissions made by the Revenue in writing as well as orally at the time of hearings. We have also seen the various documents submitted by the Applicant. We find that the Applicant did not make any correct declaration about the value of the car with the sole object of evading custom duties. Even after his car was seized by customs authorities at Jaipur, the importer Shri Adbul Khadar never appeared either before the investigating authorities in the Commissionerate or even before the Bench. The Applicant produced different invoices to justify his value. In the Bill of Entry the Applicant declared the value of the car as UK 21370 and freight as 600 which converted into Indian rupees comes to Rs. 16,15,141/- but in the column of the Bill of Entry for as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ced any import of 1998 model of the car in or about October, 1999. However, in September, 1999 one Mercedez Benze car of model C-180 manufactured in 1994 was imported and assessable value was calculated on the basis of the price of DM 46,670/-. It has also been ascertained that the value for a Mercedez Benze Car is normally taken from the price published in the Tourist Price List for the relevant year of manufacture. However, if the Tourist Price List for the relevant year is not available, the value listed in Parker s Guide is taken and a trade discount of 15% from the list price is permitted. The Tourist Price List for the year, 1998 was not available. The price of model C-180 (Automatic Transmission) as per Parker s Guide is reported to be U.K. Pound 21,375/-. We find that the importer had declared a price of UK Pound 21,370/- which corresponds to the price in the Parker s Guide. Since the importer himself has declared this price, we find no reason to discard the price declared and arrive at the assessable value after allowing the 15% trade discount on this price. The freight, insurance and landing charges will be adopted as declared in the Bill of Entry by the applicant. The as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... immunity from prosecution and penalty. The applicant have prayed for immunity under Section 127H in their application. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of this case, we are of the view that the applicant have co-operated with the Commission in the proceedings before it and has accepted his guilt and thus he is eligible for grant of immunity as prayed for. We further observe that the dispute involved is only about the valuation of the car and no contraband goods were found in the car and since applicant has approached the Commission for the settlement of the said dispute by confessing his guilt, we do not consider it necessary to levy any penalty under the Customs Act on the Applicant. For the same reasons, we also grant immunity from prosecution under the Customs Act to the Applicant in this case. 17. In view of our findings above, we order that the case is settled on the applicant paying a total duty amount of Rs. 14,57,215/- and a fine in lieu of confiscation amounting to Rs. 7.25 lakhs. The applicant have paid an amount of Rs. 12,45,838/- on 13-7-2001 vide TR-6 Challan No. 16/2000-2001, dated 12-7-2001. The balance amount of duty of Rs. 2,11,377/- and fine of Rs. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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