Varaha Infra Ltd. Vs Commissioner (CESTAT Delhi)
The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) Delhi has allowed appeals filed by Varaha Infra Ltd., challenging the enhancement of the declared value of imported bitumen. The Tribunal’s decision, covering multiple consignments of bitumen 60/70, centered on the principle of accepting the lowest contemporaneous transaction value for identical goods, even when higher values for other imports were present.
Case Background
Varaha Infra Ltd. imported bitumen 60/70, packed in iron drums, through various Bills of Entry in early 2012, declaring the classification under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 2714 9090 and a unit CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) value of USD 380 PMT (per metric tonne). The imports were conducted through ICD Jodhpur, ICD Mundra, and ICD Ludhiana.
Customs authorities, however, suspected mis-declaration of the import price. Data from the NIBD (National Import Database) for similar goods during the same period indicated a higher import value of USD 570 PMT for bitumen 60/70. Consequently, the goods were provisionally assessed, pending test reports. The samples confirmed the imported consignments were indeed bitumen 60/70.
Initially, the Deputy Commissioner, the original adjudicating authority, finalized the provisional assessment by accepting the declared value of USD 380 PMT. The Department, however, reviewed this decision and filed an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals), Jaipur II. The Department’s appeal argued that the adjudicating authority failed to address the correct classification (suggesting CTH 27132000 instead of 2749090) and wrongly accepted the lower value.
