Manufacturer-based PLATT discount under standing order remained operative; further customs value enhancement was unsustainable.

Standing Order No. 11/99 allowed a 10% discount from the PLATT price for imports from the manufacturer, and that entitlement could not be displaced where Standing Order No. 9/2000 amended only the separate discount under para VI for reprocessed granules. Because the appellant had already accepted the initial enhanced value, the later attempt to raise the assessable value further on the ground that the manufacturer discount was unavailable had no basis in the standing orders. The further enhancement was therefore unsustainable, and the manufacturer-based 10% discount remained operative.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to the 10% discount from PLATT price under Standing Order No. 11/99, and whether the further enhancement of the imported goods' value was sustainable after the initial enhancement had already been accepted.

Analysis: The imported goods had initially been enhanced by the customs authorities and that enhanced value was accepted by the appellant. The subsequent notice sought a further enhancement on the footing that the appellant was not entitled to the 10% discount for imports from the manufacturer. Standing Order No. 11/99 specifically allowed a 10% discount from the PLATT rate for imports from the manufacturer. Standing Order No. 9/2000 amended only the discount under para VI, increasing it to 35% for reprocessed granules, and did not amend para IV dealing with the manufacturer-based 10% discount. The denial of that discount therefore had no basis in the standing order.

Conclusion: The further enhancement was unsustainable, and the appellant was entitled to the 10% discount from PLATT price.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a later standing order amends only one specific discount provision, an unamended earlier provision granting a separate discount remains operative and cannot be ignored to justify further enhancement.

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