TARAJYOT POLYMERS PVT. LTD. Vs. CC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants imported polypropylene granules from Japan and filed two Bills of Entry dated 23.9.99 for clearing the goods on payment of duty based on the declared unit price of US 460 C&F (Chennai). The original authority rejected this value after noting international 'PLATT' prices relevant to the time of the subject import, which were in the range of US 500 - 500 C&F. That authority proceeded to fix the assessable value of the goods, under Rule 5 of the Customs Valuation Rules, 1988, on the basis of the minimum PLATT price [US 500] taken to be the unit price of "identical goods" for the purpose of the said rule. Accordingly, the price of the goods was loaded. The assessee, aggrieved by this decision of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, preferred appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) and the latter fixed the assessable value of the goods at US 500 C&F itself, but under Rule 8 of the above Rules. Learned Commissioner (Appeals) found that the original authority had erred in adopting the PLATT price as the transaction value of identical goods imported into India at or about the time of the subject imports. However, after traversing sequentially through rules 5 to 7, she chose to invoke Rule 8 for determining the assessable value of the goods. Under this Rule, learned Commissioner (Appeals) chose to adopt the PLATT price as a reasonable means for best judgment. Hence the present appeal.

(2.) AFTER examining the records and hearing both sides, we find that admittedly there was no contemporaneous import of identical goods so as to enable the lower authorities to reject the transaction value of the goods on that ground. The only other material available and availed of by both the lower authorities is the price of identical goods reported by PLATT. The question now before us is whether PLATT price was a sustainable basis for determination of the assessable value of the goods. In the case of Adoni Exports Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam , this Bench held as under:

(3.) IN the result, the impugned order is set aside and this appeal is allowed.