Customs valuation includes buyer-paid commission where it is not separately declared or proved to cover distinct services.

Agency commission paid by the buyer was includible in the assessable value of imported printing machines under Rule 9 of the Customs Valuation Rules, 1988, because commission and brokerage not included in the price must be added for valuation. The claim that the payment also covered installation and technical advice was not accepted on the record, as the correspondence showed the amount being shown as commission in the accounts and there was no reliable basis to split it into separate components. On that footing, the valuation treatment was upheld and no interference was warranted with the Collector's confiscation and redemption orders.

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Issues: Whether the agency commission of 20% of the CIF value, which was not separately declared and was described as covering commission, installation and after-sale service, was includible in the assessable value of the imported printing machines, and whether the Collector's orders of confiscation and redemption required interference.

Analysis: Under Rule 9 of the Customs Valuation Rules, 1988, commission and brokerage paid by the buyer but not included in the price are to be added to the price for valuation purposes. The appellants' plea that the amount represented not only commission but also installation and technical advice was not accepted on the record, including the letter stating that commission and other charges were being shown as commission in the accounts. The payment had in fact been made by the importers, and there was no basis to treat the amount as divisible on the asserted three counts. On that footing, the amount was correctly treated as part of the assessable value, and no infirmity was shown in the Collector's findings.

Conclusion: The commission amount was correctly includible in the assessable value, and the orders of the Collector were upheld against the appellants.

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