Redetermination of transaction value and consequential duty...

Redetermination of transaction value and consequential duty demand/penalties on imported goods declared as processed coral waste was held unsustainable because the Department led no independent evidence to justify rejection of the declared invoice value or to support undervaluation, and did not rebut supplier invoices and declarations certifying description and value. Applying the principle that invoice value cannot be rejected arbitrarily without valid reasons, contemporaneous comparable import data, or other credible evidence, and noting that customs examination did not dispute the nature of goods, the demand and penalties were set aside and the appeal was allowed - CESTAT