Declared transaction value cannot be rejected on unsigned photocopies alone when contemporaneous import evidence supports the importer's price.

Unsigned and unattested photocopies of foreign export declarations, without production of originals or independent proof of genuineness, were held insufficient to displace the declared transaction value of imported goods. The contemporaneous import evidence supported the importers' declared price, and the surrounding materials, including the invoice and insurance cover, were not shown to be false. In the absence of concrete material establishing that the import invoices were fabricated or bogus, rejection of the declared value and enhancement of assessable value were unsustainable, and the consequential penalties could not stand.

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Issues: Whether the declared transaction value of imported goods could be rejected and the assessable value enhanced on the basis of unsigned, unattested photocopies of export declarations obtained from foreign customs authorities.

Analysis: The documents relied upon by the Revenue were only photocopies, were unsigned and unattested, and the original export declarations or supporting statements from the foreign manufacturers were not produced. The contemporaneous import evidence produced by the importers supported the declared price, and the Commissioner himself had noted that the contemporaneous evidence was balanced on both sides and that the insurance cover and the supplier's invoice were not shown to be false. In the absence of concrete material showing that the import invoices were fabricated or bogus, and in view of the legal position that unsigned copies without foundational proof cannot by themselves displace the declared value, the Revenue's reliance on those documents was insufficient.

Conclusion: The declared transaction value could not be rejected on the material relied upon by the Revenue, and the enhancement of assessable value and the consequent penalties were unsustainable in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and all appeals were allowed with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Unsigned and unattested photocopies of foreign export declarations, without production of originals or independent proof of genuineness, cannot by themselves displace a declared transaction value where contemporaneous imports and surrounding evidence support the declared price.

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