Customs valuation of imported goods cannot rest on market reports or export-country prices when declared value remains unshaken.

Declared transaction value of imported poppy seeds could not be enhanced on the basis of Public Ledger prices, Comtrade data, Spice Weekly references, or country-of-origin prices, because that material did not properly displace the declared value and was inconsistent with the Customs Valuation Rules. Value cannot be fixed by domestic market prices in the country of exportation or by arbitrary or fictitious benchmarks, and the lower authorities' reliance on such material was found insufficient. The adjudication also went beyond the scope of the show-cause notice. On that basis, the valuation enhancement was held unsustainable and the assessee's appeals were allowed.

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Issues: Whether the declared value of imported poppy seeds could be enhanced on the basis of Public Ledger prices, Comtrade, Spice Weekly and country-of-origin prices, and whether the impugned valuation orders were sustainable.

Analysis: The enhancement was founded primarily on market information such as Public Ledger, Comtrade and Spice Weekly, and the alleged contemporaneous value was not properly supported by the record. The use of the subject price of goods in the country of export was inconsistent with the Customs Valuation Rules, which do not permit determination of value on the basis of domestic market price in the country of exportation or other arbitrary or fictitious values. The material relied upon by the lower authorities was also found to be insufficient to displace the declared transaction value, and the adjudication travelled beyond the scope of the show-cause notice.

Conclusion: The enhancement of value was unsustainable and the appeals were allowed in favour of the assessee.

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