Entry tax valuation must use the pre-entry purchase price, not the later local sale price.

For entry tax under the U.P. Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2007, "value of goods" is determined at the point of entry by reference to the importer's purchase invoice or bill, together with specified incidental purchase and transport charges up to that stage. Charges arising after entry, including internal expenses and profit margin on local sale, are excluded from the taxable base. The subsequent sale price within the local area cannot replace the entry-stage value for ad valorem computation, and the view treating sale price as the taxable value was unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether, for levy of entry tax under the U.P. Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2007, the expression "value of goods" is to be determined by reference to the purchase price incurred by the importer at the stage of entry into the local area, or by reference to the subsequent sale price realised within the local area.

Analysis: The statutory scheme treats the entry of goods into the local area as the taxing event and defines "value of goods" by reference to the original purchase invoice or bill, together with specified incidental charges connected with purchase and transport up to the point of entry. Charges incurred after the goods enter the local area, including the dealer's internal expenses and profit margin on local sale, do not form part of the taxable value. The computation of entry tax is therefore confined to the stage at which the goods are brought into the local area, and the subsequent sale price cannot be substituted for that value. Support was drawn from the pari materia entry-tax principle that the price prevailing at the time of entry is the relevant base for ad valorem levy.

Conclusion: The taxable value is the purchase price and connected pre-entry charges, not the sale price realised inside the local area. The Tribunal's view treating sale price as the value of goods was unsustainable.

---