Related-party import valuation: declared transaction value must stand unless influence is proved, and enhancement must follow authorised rules.

In imports from a related person, transaction value must be accepted unless the relationship is shown to have influenced the sale price. The materials showing purchase price, resale price and the commercial basis of the transactions required proper examination before rejecting declared value. Valuation could not be enhanced by applying average price differentials from other transactions because that method was not authorised under the valuation rules. The impugned valuation order was therefore held unsustainable, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration on merits.

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Issues: Whether the transaction value for imports from a related person could be rejected without properly examining whether the sale price was unaffected by the relationship, and whether the valuation could be enhanced by applying average price differentials from other transactions.

Analysis: Rule 4(3)(a) requires acceptance of transaction value between related parties if the sale is not influenced by the relationship. The materials produced to show purchase and resale prices, and the commercial basis of the transactions, required consideration by the lower authority. The method adopted for enhancement was also inconsistent with Rule 5, which does not support loading the value on the basis applied in the assessment.

Conclusion: The valuation was unsustainable. The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the original authority for fresh consideration on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: In transactions between related parties, transaction value must be accepted unless the relationship is shown to have influenced the price, and valuation cannot be enhanced by a method not authorised by the valuation rules.

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