Declared transaction value cannot be enhanced on a DRI alert or another bill of entry without lawful rejection and evidence.

Declared transaction value under the Customs valuation scheme cannot be enhanced merely on the basis of a DRI alert or the assessed value in another bill of entry. The declared value must first be lawfully rejected under the valuation rules, and enhancement requires supporting evidence that the declared price is not the real transaction value. An assessed value in another bill of entry, even if already enhanced by the Department, cannot by itself be treated as contemporaneous evidence of similar imports. In the absence of such evidence, reliance on the declared transaction value is required and enhancement is not sustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessable value of the imported goods could be enhanced on the basis of a DRI alert and the assessed value in another bill of entry without first rejecting the declared transaction value in accordance with the Customs valuation framework.

Analysis: The declared transaction value cannot be discarded merely because of a DRI alert or because another bill of entry reflects an enhanced assessed value. Enhancement of value must follow the statutory valuation rules and requires rejection of the declared value on legally sustainable grounds. A value already enhanced by the Department cannot itself be treated as the contemporaneous value of similar imports. In the absence of supporting evidence showing that the declared price was not the real transaction value, reliance on assessed bills of entry was not justified.

Conclusion: The enhancement of value was not sustainable. The imported goods had to be assessed on the declared transaction value, and the appeals succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Declared transaction value under the Customs valuation scheme cannot be enhanced on the basis of a DRI alert or another assessed bill of entry unless the declared value is first lawfully rejected and supported by evidence showing that it is not the real transaction value.

---