Barge hire charges after crossing the customs barrier were excluded from assessable value for customs duty.

Barge hire charges incurred only for unloading goods from the mother vessel to the barge after the customs barrier had been crossed were not part of the assessable value for customs purposes. The expenditure was attributable to post-import unloading activity, not to the value of the imported goods at the point of importation, so it was excluded from assessable value. The appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether barge hire charges incurred for unloading goods from the mother vessel to the barge after the customs barrier had been crossed were includible in the assessable value of the imported goods.

Analysis: The charges in question were incurred only for unloading the goods from the mother vessel to the barge after the point at which the customs barrier had already been crossed. On those facts, the expenditure was not part of the value of the imported goods for customs assessment purposes.

Conclusion: The barge hire charges were not includible in the assessable value of the imported iron ore, and the appeal fails.

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