Customs valuation requires contemporaneous comparable imports; market enquiry alone cannot justify rejection of declared value.

Declared value under customs valuation could not be rejected on the basis of market enquiry and DRI information where no contemporaneous imports of comparable goods at or about the time of importation were shown. Section 14(1) of the Customs Act requires comparison with goods ordinarily available for sale at the place and time of importation, and the absence of such evidence made revaluation unsustainable. The alleged quality difference was also unsupported by any technical opinion. The declared value was therefore accepted and reassessment was held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the declared value of the imported goods could be rejected and reassessed on the basis of market enquiry and DRI information in the absence of contemporaneous imports of comparable goods at or about the time of importation.

Analysis: The essential requirement for determination of value under Section 14(1) of the Customs Act is that the goods or like goods relied upon must be ordinarily available for sale at the place and time of importation. The standard goods selected for comparison were not shown to be imported into India at or about the time of importation of the subject goods. In the absence of contemporaneous importation of comparable goods, the valuation exercise based on such comparison could not be sustained. The finding recorded by the lower appellate authority on this factual aspect was not shown to be perverse, and no technical opinion had been obtained to support the alleged quality difference. Accordingly, the invocation of Section 14(1) and Rule 8 for revaluation was unjustified.

Conclusion: The declared value was rightly accepted and the reassessment made by the adjudicating authority was unsustainable.

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