Customs valuation based on actual contract price upheld, with demurrage included up to the contract date.

Declared transaction value for imported goods was accepted where the later contract was entered into on 06.11.2008 at the prevailing market price and the earlier higher-priced shipment had not resulted in a completed sale or delivery. Customs valuation under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 had to reflect the price actually paid or payable for the goods sold for export to India, so the declared invoice value could not be rejected merely by reference to an abandoned prior import or unrelated contemporaneous figures. The assessable value was to include demurrage charges paid on behalf of the supplier up to the date of contract under Rule 10(1)(e) of the Customs Valuation Rules, 2007.

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Issues: Whether the transaction value declared by the importers for the goods imported in November 2008 was acceptable for customs valuation purposes.

Analysis: The goods had originally been shipped to earlier importers at a higher declared price, but that transaction did not culminate in a completed sale and no delivery to those importers took place. The later contract with the appellants was entered into on 06.11.2008 at the then prevailing international market price, and the declared invoice value was supported by that contract. The rejection of the declared value could not rest merely on the earlier abandoned import or on contemporaneous import figures unrelated to the appellants' own import transaction. Under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, the relevant value is the price actually paid or payable for the goods sold for export to India for delivery at the time and place of importation, and the cost additions contemplated by Rule 10(1)(e) of the Customs Valuation Rules, 2007 required inclusion of demurrage charges paid on behalf of the supplier up to the date of contract.

Conclusion: The declared transaction value was not liable to be rejected, and the assessable value was to be taken as the invoice price plus demurrage charges up to 06.11.2008, in favour of the appellants.

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