Customs valuation of electronic boards requires expert examination and fair rebuttal before any enhancement of assessable value.

Declared assessable value for imported electronic boards could not be sustained on the basis of website material and comparable imports alone, because the exact character and end use of the populated circuit boards and related components required proper verification. The valuation adopted by the department was found insufficient without expert examination of the goods and disclosure of that material to the importer for rebuttal. The impugned valuation findings were set aside and the matter was remanded for de novo adjudication after expert examination and fresh re-determination of value.

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Issues: (i) Whether the declared assessable value and the valuation adopted by the Department for the imported electronic boards could be sustained without expert examination of the goods and proper verification of their nature and use.

Analysis: The dispute concerned populated electronic circuit boards and related components whose exact character and end use could not be reliably determined by casual inspection alone. The valuation adopted by reference to website material and comparable imports was held insufficient by itself for loading value and demanding differential duty. As the goods were still under customs charge, the correct course was to obtain an expert opinion on their nature, share that material with the importer, and afford an opportunity to rebut it before any fresh valuation.

Conclusion: The valuation findings in the impugned order were set aside and the matter was remanded for de novo adjudication after expert examination and fresh re-determination of value.

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