Customs valuation remand limits: authority cannot reopen a finalised issue or go beyond the Tribunal's remand directions.

An appellate authority cannot remand a matter again on an issue already left undecided in accordance with the Tribunal's directions and that has attained finality when unchallenged by Revenue. Here, the remand required a finding on whether the importer's relationship with the foreign supplier influenced the price of imported goods, but the adjudicating authority instead added technical know-how fee under a different valuation provision. That departure from the remit made the further remand unsustainable, and the earlier adjudication on remand, not challenged by Revenue, remained conclusive. The remand order was therefore set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the remand order was sustainable when the original adjudicating authority did not decide the issue remitted by the Tribunal and instead added technical know-how fee under a different valuation provision.

Analysis: The remand by the Tribunal required the adjudicating authority to determine whether the relationship between the importer and the foreign supplier had influenced the price of the imported goods. Instead of recording a finding on that specific question, the adjudicating authority proceeded to add the US$ 20 lakhs paid or payable as technical know-how fee under Rule 9(1)(c) of the Customs Valuation Rules, 1988. That course departed from the remit, because the issue before the authority was the effect of relationship on price, not the assessability of technical know-how payment. The earlier adjudication on remand also remained unchallenged by the Revenue, and therefore attained finality. In those circumstances, the Commissioner (Appeals) could not send the matter back again for fresh determination on the same issue.

Conclusion: The remand order was unsustainable and was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded because the lower appellate authority could not reopen an issue that had already been left undecided on remand and had attained finality in the absence of a Revenue challenge.

Ratio Decidendi: An appellate authority cannot remand a matter for reconsideration on an issue that was not decided in accordance with the Tribunal's remand directions and has already attained finality when the unchallenged adjudication has become conclusive.

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