Import valuation requires proof that the invoice is unreliable; higher comparable prices alone cannot justify enhancement.

Declared import value can be rejected only on legally recognised valuation grounds showing that the invoice is not genuine or that the transaction price does not reflect the real consideration. Higher prices in other imports, by themselves, are insufficient to discard the transaction value or enhance assessable value. A mere show cause notice in a cited comparable matter does not establish acceptance of a higher value, and comparable instances must be proved with reliable evidence before they can displace the declared invoice value. On that basis, enhancement of the declared value was held unsustainable and the invoice value was accepted.

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Issues: Whether the declared invoice value of imported goods could be rejected and the assessable value enhanced on the basis of other import prices without clear evidence that the invoice was not genuine or that additional consideration had passed clandestinely.

Analysis: The lower appellate authority accepted the invoice value after noticing lower values accepted in other imports and held that the enhancement made under the valuation rules could not stand in the absence of evidence showing that the invoice was not genuine or that the transaction price did not reflect the real price. The appeal record did not establish what had ultimately happened in the cited comparable case, and the mere issuance of a show cause notice there was not treated as proof of acceptance of the higher value. The declared value could be discarded only on the grounds recognised by the valuation rules, and not routinely on the basis of higher invoices or unsubstantiated comparables.

Conclusion: The enhancement of the declared value was not legally sustainable and the invoice value was to be accepted.

Ratio Decidendi: A declared import value can be rejected only on legally recognised grounds showing that the invoice is not genuine or that the transaction does not represent the real price; comparable higher prices by themselves are insufficient to discard the transaction value.

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