Declared transaction value cannot be discarded for common directorship alone, and export price cannot drive domestic valuation.

Declared transaction value cannot be rejected merely because the buyer and seller share common directors; absent material showing a statutory related-person relationship or that the relationship influenced price, the declared value remains sustainable. Export price also cannot be adopted for domestic valuation where the governing rule prohibits reliance on export prices for goods cleared to India. On these prima facie findings in a valuation dispute over ophthalmic lenses cleared to a sister concern, the applicants established a strong case for waiver of pre-deposit, and recovery was stayed pending appeal.

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Issues: Whether the applicants made out a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery in a valuation dispute involving alleged related-party sales and reliance on export price.

Analysis: The applicants challenged the reassessment of the assessable value of ophthalmic lenses cleared in the domestic market to a sister concern. The claimed ground for treating the buyer and seller as related persons was the existence of common directors, which by itself was not sufficient to reject the declared transaction value in the absence of material showing the statutory relationship or any influence of such relationship on price. The order also noted that export price could not be used for determining transaction value in view of the rule prohibiting valuation on the basis of export price to a country other than India.

Conclusion: A strong prima facie case for waiver was made out, and the pre-deposit of duty and penalty was dispensed with with recovery stayed pending the appeal.

Final Conclusion: The application for interim relief succeeded, leaving the substantive valuation dispute to be decided in the appeal.

Ratio Decidendi: Mere common directorship, without proof that the relationship influenced price, is insufficient to reject declared transaction value, and export price cannot be adopted as the basis for valuation where the governing rule prohibits such reliance.

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