Customs valuation by undisclosed market enquiry rejected when contemporaneous imports were unavailable and transaction value lacked support.

Declared transaction value of imported goods cannot be rejected merely because the importer did not produce the manufacturer's invoice. Where no contemporaneous imports of similar or identical goods were available and the goods were not found in the market, valuation could not be determined under Rules 5, 6 and 7 of the Customs Valuation Rules, 1988. In that situation, an assessable value based on an undisclosed market enquiry could not be sustained. The rejection of the transaction value and the loading of value were therefore held unjustified, and the importer succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the declared transaction value of the imported goods could be rejected and the assessable value enhanced on the basis of a market enquiry when no contemporaneous imports of similar or identical goods were available and the market enquiry report was not supplied to the importer.

Analysis: The declared transaction value was rejected only because the importer had not produced the manufacturer's invoice. The record also showed that there were no contemporary imports of similar or identical goods and that the goods were not available in the market, so valuation could not be determined under Rules 5, 6 and 7 of the Customs Valuation Rules, 1988. In those circumstances, enhancement based on an undisclosed market enquiry could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The rejection of the transaction value and the loading based on market enquiry were unjustified, and the importer succeeded.

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