Customs Valuation (Determination of Price of Imported Goods) Rules, 1988
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....eans imported goods that are within a group or range of imported goods produced by a particular industry or industrial sector and includes identical goods or similar goods; (c) "identical goods" means imported goods - (i) which are same in all respects, including physical characteristics, quality and reputation as the goods being valued except for minor differences in appearance that do not affect the value of the goods; (ii) produced in the country in which the goods being valued were produced; and (iii) produced by the same person who produced the goods, or where no such goods are available, goods produced by a different person, but shall not include imported goods where engineering, development work, art work, design work, plant or sketch undertaken in India were completed directly or indirectly by the buyer on these imported goods free of charge or at a reduced cost for use in connection with the production and sale for export of these imported goods; (d) "produced" includes grown, manufactured and mined; (e) "similar goods" means imported goods - (i) which although not alike in all respects, have like characteristics and like component materials which enable them to pe....
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....alue of imported goods under sub-rule (1) above shall be accepted; Provided that - (a) there are no restrictions as to the disposition or use of the goods by the buyer other than restrictions which - (i) are imposed or required by law or by the public authorities in India; or (ii) limit the geographical area in which the goods may be resold; or (iii) do not substantially affect the value of the goods; (b) the sale or price is not subject to same condition or consideration for which a value cannot be determined in respect of the goods being valued; (c) no part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale, disposal or use of the goods by the buyer will accrue directly or indirectly to the seller, unless an appropriate adjustment can be made in accordance with the provisions of Rule 9 of these rules; and (d) the buyer and seller are not related, or where the buyer and seller are related, that transaction value is acceptable for customs purposes under the provisions of sub-rule (3) below. (3) (a) Where the buyer and seller are related, the transaction value shall be accepted provided that the examination of the circumstances of the sale of the imported goods indicate that th....
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....such value shall be used to determine the value of imported goods. 6."Transaction value of similar goods. - (1) Subject to the provisions of Rule 3 of these rules, the value of imported goods shall be the transaction value of similar goods sold for export to India and imported at or about the same time as the goods being valued. (2) The provisions of clauses (b) and (c) of sub-rule (1), sub-rule (2) and sub-rule (3), of Rule 5 of these rules shall, mutatis mutandis, also apply in respect of similar goods. 7. Deductive value. - (1) Subject to provisions of Rule 3 of these rules, if the goods being valued or identical or similar imported goods are sold in India, in the condition as imported at or about the time at which the declaration for determination of value is presented, the value of imported goods shall be based on the unit price at which the imported goods or identical or similar imported goods are sold in the greatest aggregate quantity to persons who are not related to the sellers in India, subject to the following deductions :- (i) either the commission usually paid or agreed to be paid or the additions usually made for profits and general expenses in connection w....
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....by the buyer but are not included in the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods, namely :- (i) commissions and brokerage, except buying commissions; (ii) the cost of containers which are treated as being one for customs purposes with the goods in question; (iii) the cost of packing whether for labour or materials; (b) the value, apportioned as appropriate, of the following goods and services where supplied directly or indirectly by the buyer free of charge or at reduced cost for use in connection with the production and sale for export of imported goods, to the extent that such value has not been included in the price actually paid or payable, namely :- (i) materials, components, parts and similar items incorporated in the imported goods; (ii) tools, dies, moulds and similar items used in the production of the imported goods; (iii) materials consumed in the production of the imported goods; (iv) engineering, development, art work, design work, and plans and sketches undertaken elsewhere than in India and necessary for the production of the imported goods; (c) royalties and licence fees related to the imported goods that the buyer is required to pay, directly....
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....oods under these rules. (2) Nothing contained in these rules shall be construed as restricting or calling into question the right of the proper officer of customs to satisfy himself as to the truth or accuracy of any statement, information, document or declaration presented for valuation purposes. (3) The provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) relating to confiscation, penalty and prosecution shall apply to cases where wrong declaration, information, statement or documents are furnished under these rules. 11."Settlement of dispute. - In case of dispute between the importer and the proper officer of customs valuing the goods, the same shall be resolved consistent with the provisions contained in sub-section (1) of Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962). 12."Interpretative Notes. - The interpretative notes specified in the Schedule to these rules shall apply for the interpretation of these rules. The Schedule (See Rule 12) INTERPRETATIVE NOTES General Note Use of generally accepted accounting principles 1."Generally accepted accounting principles" refers to the recogni-zed consensus or substantial authoritative support within a country at a particular ti....
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....h do not substantially affect the value of the goods. An example of such restrictions would be the case where a seller requires a buyer of automobiles not to sell or exhibit them prior to a fixed date which represents the beginning of a model year. Rule 4(2)(b) If the sale or price is subject to some condition or consideration for which a value cannot be determined with respect to the goods being valued, the transaction value shall not be acceptable for customs purposes. Some examples of this include : (a) The seller establishes the price of the imported goods on condition that the buyer will also buy other goods in specified quantities; (b) The price of the imported goods is dependent upon the price or prices at which the buyer of the imported goods sells other goods to the seller of the imported goods; (c) the price is established on the basis of a form of payment extraneous to the imported goods, such as where the imported goods are semi-finished goods which have been provided by the seller on condition that he will receive a specified quantity of the finished goods. However, conditions or considerations relating to the production or marketing of the imported goods shall n....
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....uld demonstrate that the price had not been influenced by the relationship. As an example of this, if the price had been settled in a manner consistent with the normal pricing practices of the industry in question or with the way the seller settles prices for sales to buyers who are not related to him, this would demonstrate that the price had not been influenced by the relationship. As a further example, where it is shown that the price is adequate to ensure recovery of all costs plus a profit which is representative of the firm's overall profit realized over a representative period of time (e.g., on an annual basis) in sales of goods of the same class or kind, this would demonstrate that the price had not been influenced. 4. Rule 4(3) (b) provides an opportunity for the importer to demonstrate that the transaction value closely approximates to a "test" value previously accepted by the proper officer of customs and is therefore acceptable under the provisions of rule 4. Where a test under rule 4(3)(b) is met, it is not necessary to examine the question of influence under rule 3(a). If the proper officer of customs has already, sufficient information to be satisfied, without....
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....y of the adjustment, e.g. valid price lists containing prices referring to different levels or different quantities. As an example of this, if the imported goods being valued consist of a shipment of 10 units and the only identical imported goods for which a transaction value exists involved a sale of 500 units, and it is recognised that the seller grants quantity discounts, the required adjustment may be accomplished by resorting to the seller's price list and using that price applicable to a sale of 10 units. This does not require that a sale had to have been made in quantities of 10 as long as the price list has been established as being bona fide through sales at other quantities. In the absence of such an objective measure, however, the determination of a value under the provisions of rule 5 is not appropriate. Note to rule 6 1.In applying rule 6, the proper officer of customs shall, wherever possible, use a sale of similar goods at the same commercial level and is substantially the same quantities as the goods being valued. For the purpose of rule 6, the transaction value of similar imported goods means the value of imported goods, adjusted as provided for in rule 6(2) whic....
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....ied by or on behalf of the importer unless his figures are inconsistent with those obtaining in sales in India, of imported goods of the same class or kind. Where the importer's figures are inconsistent with such figures, the amount for profit and general expenses may be based upon relevant information other than that supplied by or on behalf of the importer. 7.The "general expenses" include the direct and indirect costs of marketing the goods in question. 8.Local taxes payable by reason of the sale of the goods for which a deduction is not made under the provisions of rule 7(1)(iii) shall be deducted under the provisions of rule 7(1)(i). 9.In determining either the commissions or the usual profits and general expenses under the provisions of rule 7(1), the question whether certain goods are "of the same class or kind" as other goods must be determined on a case-by-case basis by reference to the circumstances involved. Sales in India, of the narrowest group or range of imported goods of the same class or kind, which includes the goods being valued, for which the necessary information can be provided, should be examined. For the purposes of rule 7 "goods of the same class or kind....
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....g valued could be flexibly interpreted; similar imported goods produced in a country other than the country of exportation of the goods being valued could be the basis for customs valuation; customs values of similar imported goods already determined under the provisions of rule 7 could be used. (c) Deductive method - The requirement that the goods shall have been sold in the "condition as imported" in rule 7(1) could be flexibly interpreted; the ninety days requirement could be administered, flexibly. Note to rule 9 In rule 9(1)(a)(i), the term "buying commissions" means fees paid by an importer to his agent for the service of representing him abroad in the purchase of the goods being valued. Rule 9(1)(b)(ii) 1.There are two factors involved in the apportionment of the elements specified in rule 9(1)(b)(ii) to the imported goods - the value of the element itself and the way in which that value is to be apportioned to the imported goods. The apportionment of these elements should be made in a reasonable manner appropriate to the circumstances and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. 2.Concerning the value of the element, if the importer acquires ....
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.... its accounting methods. 4.For example, it is possible that a firm which imports a variety of products from several countries maintains the records of its design centre outside the country of importation in such a way as to show accurately the costs attributable to a given product. In such cases, a direct adjustment may appropriately be made under the provisions of rule 9. 5.In another case, a firm may carry the cost of the design centre outside the country of importation as a general overhead expense without allocation to specific products. In this instance, an appropriate adjustment could be made under the provisions of rule 9 with respect to the imported goods by apportioning total design centre costs over total production benefiting from the design centre and adding such apportioned cost on a unit basis to imports. 6.Variations in the above circumstances will, of course, require different factors to be considered in determining the proper method of allocation. 7.In cases where the production of the element in question involves a number of countries and over a period of time, the adjustment should be limited to the value actually added to that element outside the country of ....