PUNJAB PROCESSORS PVT. LTD. Vs. COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The only issue in these appeals is whether the Customs authorities could have taken the invoice value as the basis for calculating the import value for purposes of customs duty. According to learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant, the Tribunal had erroneously held that the appellant had not produced the evidence to show that the value of the imported goods was lower than the invoice. The application for rectification for correcting the "error" was also rejected by the Tribunal on the ground that it did not have the power to review. The appeals have been preferred from both these decisions.

(2.) It is not necessary for us to decide the question whether the Tribunal had the power to rectify the "error" because we are of the view that the original order passed by the Tribunal was correct. While the Customs authorities while assessing the value of the import are not bound by the figure mentioned in the invoice and the Customs authorities can rely on contemporaneous evidence to show that the invoice is not the correct value, the importer can hardly be heard to say that its invoice value did not represent the correct value of the imported goods.

(3.) The appeals are accordingly dismissed but without any order as to costs.