Re-import valuation includes freight and insurance for Indian goods returned after export under bond.

Re-imported Indian goods exported under bond without payment of excise duty are assessed under the Customs Act, 1962 on the footing of goods of like kind and value imported from abroad. For such re-imports, customs duty is linked to the excise duty leviable at the time and place of importation, and valuation is not confined to the duty element existing at export. Freight and insurance therefore form part of the assessable value, and the claim for refund of excess countervailing duty was not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether, on re-import of goods manufactured in India and exported under bond without payment of excise duty, freight and insurance were includible in the value for customs assessment and consequent countervailing duty, and whether refund of excess duty was payable.

Analysis: Section 20(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, together with the first proviso, treats re-imported Indian goods as liable to duty on the footing of goods of like kind and value imported from abroad. Where goods were exported under bond without payment of excise duty, the re-import is governed by the clause requiring payment of customs duty equal to the central excise duty leviable at the time and place of importation. The provision does not confine valuation to the excise duty element existing at export. The imported re-exported goods are therefore to be valued as imported goods, and freight and insurance form part of that value.

Conclusion: The inclusion of freight and insurance in the assessable value was correct, and the claim for refund of excess countervailing duty was not maintainable.

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