Fresh consideration on remand is mandatory; customs valuation order set aside for failure to decide independently on record.

On remand, an authority must decide the matter afresh and independently on the materials and submissions placed before it; reliance on an earlier order without fresh consideration vitiates the decision. In this customs valuation dispute, the Court found that the authority failed to undertake an uninfluenced reappraisal of the evidence as required after remand and instead treated the prior order as still controlling. The valuation dispute itself was not examined on merits. The impugned order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded for fresh consideration.

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Issues: Whether the impugned customs valuation order was liable to be set aside for want of an independent consideration on remand and for reliance on earlier orders instead of the materials placed by the petitioner.

Analysis: The earlier proceedings had already resulted in remands requiring fresh consideration on the valuation issue after hearing the assessee and examining the evidentiary materials. In the impugned round, the authority was expected to decide the matter independently on the basis of the documents and submissions placed before it. Instead, it treated the earlier order as still relevant and failed to arrive at a fresh, uninfluenced decision. The Court confined itself to this procedural infirmity and did not examine the merits of the valuation dispute.

Conclusion: The impugned order was unsustainable and was set aside; the matter was remanded for fresh consideration by the respondent.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an order is passed on remand, the authority must decide the matter afresh and independently on the materials on record, and failure to do so vitiates the order.

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