Customs Valuation (Determination of Price of Imported Goods) Rules, 1988 - Cases handled by Special Valuation Branch of the Custom Houses - Regarding.

Special Valuation Branch procedures centralized; provisional assessments require investigation with strict timelines and reduced deposit obligation.

Centralisation requires SVBs at Chennai, Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai to handle related-person and complex valuation cases; registration for SVB investigation needs Commissioner approval. Assessment Groups will determine value without SVB reference where declared price aligns with transaction, deductive, or computed values or contractual conditions govern. Cases showing prima facie related-party influence, use of deductive/computed methods, or additions under Rule 9 (royalty/licence fees, proceeds of subsequent sale, conditional payments) may be referred to SVB after provisional assessment. Extra duty deposit is reduced to 1%; investigations must be finalised within three months of SVB registration, with monitoring by Commissioners.