Depreciation-based valuation of used imported machinery upheld where customs norms ensured uniform assessable value.

Imported used construction machinery was assessed under standard customs depreciation norms because the residual value of used machinery cannot be determined with precision. The authorities applied the maximum depreciation permissible under the prescribed guidelines, and the valuation approach had already been accepted for similar imports. The Tribunal upheld this norm-based valuation, finding no basis to disturb the assessable value on the ground that the machinery had been used for different periods or should have attracted higher depreciation.

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Issues: Whether the assessable value of imported used construction machinery was liable to be disturbed on the ground that the machinery had been used for different periods and should have received higher depreciation than that allowed under the prescribed norms.

Analysis: Valuation of used machinery involves inherent difficulty and exact residual value cannot be determined with precision. For such imports, standard depreciation norms had been laid down by the customs authorities to ensure uniformity of valuation. The machinery in question had already been valued by applying the maximum depreciation permissible under the guidelines, and the Tribunal had earlier approved valuation of similar used construction machinery on the basis of those norms.

Conclusion: The valuation based on depreciation norms was upheld and no interference with the impugned orders was warranted.

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