Assessable value re-determination fails when adjudication shifts from notice-based valuation to an unnotified comparable-value method.

An adjudicating authority cannot sustain redetermination of assessable value on a basis different from that proposed in the show cause notice. Here, the notice relied on market enquiry under Rule 9, but the final order shifted to contemporaneous imports of similar goods under Rule 5 without proper notice or opportunity to meet that case. The relied-upon imports also raised issues of different country of origin, different import period, and disputed contemporaneity. The re-determination was therefore unsustainable because the statutory conditions for comparable-value assessment were not properly established and fair hearing requirements were not met.

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Issues: Whether the re-determination of assessable value could be sustained when the show cause notice proposed valuation on the basis of market enquiry under Rule 9, but the final order adopted contemporaneous imports of similar goods under Rule 5 without due notice and opportunity to the importer.

Analysis: The show cause notice had proceeded on Rule 9 and market enquiry as the basis for enhancement of value. The final adjudication, however, shifted to Rule 5 and relied on contemporaneous imports of similar goods. Such a change in the foundation of valuation without notice to the appellant was impermissible. The record also showed that the country of origin and period of import were not the same, and the contemporaneous nature of the relied-upon imports was disputed. Re-determination under Rule 5 could be invoked only when the conditions of that rule were satisfied and the importer had been given a fair opportunity to meet that basis.

Conclusion: The re-determination of assessable value was unsustainable and the order was set aside in favour of the appellant.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded because the valuation was changed on a basis not proposed in the notice and the statutory requirements for comparable-value assessment were not properly established.

Ratio Decidendi: An adjudicating authority cannot sustain redetermination of assessable value on a ground different from that stated in the show cause notice, and contemporaneous-value assessment must strictly satisfy the relevant statutory conditions with due opportunity to the importer.

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