Customs valuation of identical goods: declared transaction value cannot be rejected when lower contemporaneous imports were accepted.

Declared customs transaction value of imported bitumen 60/70 could not be rejected merely because some contemporaneous imports showed higher prices. The valuation framework required a proper legal basis for discarding the transaction value, and the show cause notice did not establish one. The record showed several imports of identical goods from the same country had been accepted at a lower contemporaneous value, while enhancement relied only on a few higher-priced consignments at another port. In these circumstances, the lower accepted value of identical goods governed valuation, and rejection of the declared value with consequent enhancement of assessable value was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the declared transaction value of imported bitumen 60/70 could be rejected and enhanced on the basis of higher contemporaneous import prices, despite evidence of identical goods being cleared at a lower accepted value.

Analysis: The dispute turned on valuation of the imported goods. The rejection of the declared value was held unsustainable because the show cause notice did not set out a proper legal basis for discarding the transaction value under the customs valuation framework. The record showed several contemporaneous imports of the same goods from the same country having been accepted at USD 380 PMT at different ports, while the enhancement was based only on a few higher-priced consignments at another port. Where multiple transaction values of identical goods exist, the lower value is relevant for valuation, and isolated higher imports could not displace the consistently accepted lower contemporaneous value. Accordingly, there was no valid ground to reject the declared value.

Conclusion: The rejection of the transaction value and the consequent enhancement of assessable value were unjustified and could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Declared customs transaction value cannot be rejected merely because some contemporaneous imports show higher prices when identical goods have also been accepted at a lower contemporaneous value, and the lower transaction value of identical goods must govern valuation.

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