Assessable value would be the transaction value where it isn’t influenced by the relationship between the buyer and the seller

Dailmer Chrysler India Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Customs, New Delhi [2015 (11) TMI 1151 - CESTAT MUMBAI]

Facts:

Dailmer Chrysler India Pvt. Ltd. (“the Appellant”) is the subsidiary company of Daimler Chrysler AG, Germany. The parent company of the Appellant had imported three cars into India against an ATA Carnet for the purpose of exhibition at Auto Expo. These cars were sold to the Appellant after the permission from the Government. 

The value declared on Bills of Entry was substantially lower than that on the Carnet document. The Carnet document provides for declaration of value which is the commercial value in the country of its issue. The Adjudication Authority had rejected the transaction value on the ground that the value declared in the Carnet is much higher and thus ordered that the assessable value would be inclusive of Carnet price, Insurance, Freight and Landing Charges.

Held:

The Hon’ble CESTAT, Mumbai held as under:

a. When import of identical cars have been made at lower values which are comparable to the value declared at the time of filing Bill of Entry for sale of the cars imported under Carnet, there is no justification to take the higher value mentioned in the Carnet;

b. It is established by the order of the Special Valuation Branch (SVB), Mumbai, making investigation in respect of other cars imported into India, that the price of these cars aren’t influenced by relationship of the buyer and the seller. Hence the transaction value cannot be rejected;

c. Rule 8(2)(iii) of the Valuation Rules, which provides for residual method of determining the value, clearly states that no value should be determined on the basis of the price of the goods on the domestic market of the country of exportation.

Therefore, the Hon’ble Tribunal held there is no reason to differentiate between the cars imported under Carnet and the cars imported otherwise. Valuation under Section 14 of the Customs Act clearly provides that the value shall be the transaction value where the buyer and seller are not related.