{"id":188108,"date":"2010-10-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-28T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010"},"modified":"2017-02-04T17:15:59","modified_gmt":"2017-02-04T11:45:59","slug":"the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010","title":{"rendered":"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) &#8230; vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) &#8230; vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: D Jain<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: D.K. Jain, T.S. Thakur<\/div>\n<pre>                                                                        REPORTABLE\n\n                 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA\n                  CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION\n                  CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1608 of 2005\n\n\nCOMMISSIONER         OF    CUSTOMS          --     APPELLANT\n(GEN), MUMBAI\n\n\n                                VERSUS\n\n\nABDULLA KOYLOTH                             --     RESPONDENT\n\n\n\n                           JUDGMENT\n<\/pre>\n<p>D.K. JAIN, J.:\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>1.   Challenge in this appeal, by the revenue, under Section 130E(b) of the<\/p>\n<p>     Customs Act, 1962 (for short &#8220;the Act&#8221;) is to the order dated 10th<\/p>\n<p>     December 2004 passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax<\/p>\n<p>     Appellate Tribunal, (for short &#8220;the Tribunal&#8221;) whereby the appeal<\/p>\n<p>     preferred by the respondent has been allowed holding that the<\/p>\n<p>     assessable value declared by the respondent in the bill of entry should<\/p>\n<p>     be accepted for the purpose of valuation in terms of Section 14 of the<\/p>\n<p>     Act.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                         1<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>2.   M\/s. IPCO Enterprise, Thane, a proprietorship concern of the<\/p>\n<p>     respondent imported a consignment of assorted consumer goods<\/p>\n<p>     ranging from glass ware, hair dryers etc. to gas filled cylinders and<\/p>\n<p>     refrigerant-22 gas (R-22). The bill of entry for the said goods was<\/p>\n<p>     filed on 3rd May 2002, by M\/s Vegha Shipping &amp; Transport Pvt. Ltd.<\/p>\n<p>     on behalf of M\/s. IPCO Enterprise, whereby the total assessable value<\/p>\n<p>     of the goods was declared at ` 6,75, 796.90\/- with duty liability of `<\/p>\n<p>     3,86,352\/-.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>3.   On an examination of the bill of entry, invoice dated 17th April 2002,<\/p>\n<p>     and packing list issued by one M\/s. Plizer Trading, Dubai, certain<\/p>\n<p>     discrepancies were noticed by the Central Intelligence Unit, and<\/p>\n<p>     therefore, first check appraisement was ordered. Subsequently, 100%<\/p>\n<p>     examination of the goods was carried out on 13th-14th May 2002, and<\/p>\n<p>     it was found that there was mis-declaration with respect to country of<\/p>\n<p>     origin, quantity and value of the imported items.<\/p>\n<p>4.   On 31st May 2002, the respondent was summoned by the Central<\/p>\n<p>     Intelligence Unit, and his statement under Section 108 of the Act was<\/p>\n<p>     recorded. Subsequently, another statement was recorded on 6th June<\/p>\n<p>     2002, wherein the respondent stated that he was not aware that he<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                        2<\/span><br \/>\n     required license for import of certain goods, and that he did not<\/p>\n<p>     remember the country of origin of some of the goods.<\/p>\n<p>5.   Due to large number of discrepancies found in the bill of entry, and<\/p>\n<p>     the fact that the import of R-22 gas filled cylinders required actual<\/p>\n<p>     user license, the goods were seized on 4th July 2002.<\/p>\n<p>6.   On 26th August 2002, the respondent wrote a letter to the Central<\/p>\n<p>     Intelligence Unit whereby he stated that he had accepted the<\/p>\n<p>     wholesale prices found out by the department by market survey, and<\/p>\n<p>     that the case be finalized and settled at the earliest. Thereafter, duty<\/p>\n<p>     liability was calculated in terms of Rule 6A and 7(1) of the Customs<\/p>\n<p>     Valuation (Determination of Price of Imported Goods) Rules, 1988<\/p>\n<p>     (for short &#8220;the 1988 Rules&#8221;) as it was observed that Rules 3(i) and 4<\/p>\n<p>     were not applicable due to mis-declaration, and Rule 5 and 6 could<\/p>\n<p>     not be invoked as there were no contemporaneous imports of similar<\/p>\n<p>     or identical goods.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>7.   On 13th September 2002, another statement of the respondent was<\/p>\n<p>     recorded under Section 108 of the Act, wherein he admitted, inter<\/p>\n<p>     alia, that there was difference in the items declared and the items<\/p>\n<p>     actually found and seized under Panchnama, and that the prices of the<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                          3<\/span><br \/>\n     items, in question, found by the market survey were acceptable to<\/p>\n<p>     him.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>8.   Vide his order dated 21st April 2003, the Commissioner of Customs<\/p>\n<p>     rejected the assessable value declared in the bill of entry. Dealing with<\/p>\n<p>     explanation furnished on behalf of the respondent regarding some of<\/p>\n<p>     the crockery items, the Commissioner observed thus :<\/p>\n<p>     &#8220;As regards the contention that inadvertently in the packing list<br \/>\n     and the invoice, the word &#8220;Set&#8221; was omitted and officers took it<br \/>\n     as single piece in place of set, I find that whoever there are<br \/>\n     dinner sets mentioned in the invoice and packing list, the<br \/>\n     quantities in sets have been specifically mentioned while for<br \/>\n     other items the declaration have been in pieces. If the<br \/>\n     contention of the learned advocates that value declared is for a<br \/>\n     set is accepted then the value of these crockery items would<br \/>\n     become so low that such a proposition itself appears ridiculous.<br \/>\n     For example, the wholesale price of a single Arc brand, 25 CI,<br \/>\n     glass mug of France origin in the local markets is Rs.40\/- and of<br \/>\n     a set of 6 mugs is Rs.240\/-, the declared CIF price of a single<br \/>\n     same mug, if it is accepted that this price is for a set of 6 mugs<br \/>\n     as agitated by the learned advocates, would thus be Rs.0.41 or<br \/>\n     Rs.2.46\/- per set of 6 pieces. It is beyond any comprehension<br \/>\n     how the wholesale price of a single or set of this mug in the<br \/>\n     local markets can be Rs. 40\/- and Rs.240\/-respectively if they<br \/>\n     are so cheap as (sic) declared by the importers. Similar is the<br \/>\n     situation in case of all other crockery items. The advocates<br \/>\n     have not given me any explanation for such a vast difference in<br \/>\n     market values of the goods and the declared prices. On the<br \/>\n     other hand Shri Abdulla Koyloth, the proprietor of the import<br \/>\n     firm has, in his letters dated 26,08,02,09.02 and statement dated<br \/>\n     13.09.02, accepted the determination of assessable value and<br \/>\n     the duty liability thereon in the basis of market surveys which<br \/>\n     were conducted in his presence. Under the circumstances, I am<br \/>\n     not inclined to accept the contention of the advocates that the<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                           4<\/span><br \/>\n      value declared is of a complete set. In any case, these goods are<br \/>\n      mis-declared in respect of both quantities as well as value. This<br \/>\n      was done with a clear intention of evade duty.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>      Thus, having rejected the value declared by the respondent for the<\/p>\n<p>purpose of Section 14 of the Act, the Commissioner held that the assessable<\/p>\n<p>value of the goods had to be determined under Rules 6A and 7 of the 1988<\/p>\n<p>Rules. Accordingly, he confirmed the assessable value of the goods at<\/p>\n<p>`23,69,838\/- and the duty demand of `13,17,091\/- as customs duty on them.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the Commissioner ordered the confiscation of the said goods<\/p>\n<p>under Sections 111(d) and (m) of the Act, with the option of redemption on<\/p>\n<p>payment of fine of `30,11,525\/-. However, R-22 gas filled cylinders were<\/p>\n<p>confiscated absolutely under Section 111(d) of the Act. The Commissioner<\/p>\n<p>also imposed a penalty of `10 lakhs on the respondent under Section 112(a)<\/p>\n<p>of the Act.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>9.    Being aggrieved by the said order of the Commissioner, the<\/p>\n<p>      respondent carried the matter in appeal before the Tribunal. As afore-<\/p>\n<p>      mentioned, the Tribunal allowed the appeal of the importer in relation<\/p>\n<p>      to the assessable value and confiscation of the imported glassware,<\/p>\n<p>      inter alia, observing thus:\n<\/p>\n<p>\n      &#8220;4. After going through the impugned order, we find that the<br \/>\n      Commissioner has rejected the invoice value on the sole ground<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                          5<\/span><br \/>\n      that majority of the goods were declared with their generic<br \/>\n      description only without disclosing any brand name or make,<br \/>\n      etc. He has also gone on the reason that the glass items were<br \/>\n      found to be in excess quantity than the declared one. However,<br \/>\n      we find that the invoice as also the packing list was annexed<br \/>\n      with the bill of entry and the consignments in any case were of<br \/>\n      assorted items from different countries. As such, it cannot be<br \/>\n      said that there is mis-declaration as regards description of the<br \/>\n      goods. As regard, variation in quantity of glass items, the<br \/>\n      appellant have submitted that they had declared the number of<br \/>\n      sets instead of number of pieces. &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;<br \/>\n      &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<br \/>\n      The explanations tendered by the importer are plausible, and no<br \/>\n      case be made for rejecting the invoice value in the absence of<br \/>\n      any importation or evidence to reflect upon the flow back of<br \/>\n      money by the importer to the supplier&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..<br \/>\n      &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;\n<\/p>\n<p>      6. We are of the view that in the absence of any evidence to<br \/>\n      show that the invoice value was not correct and further in the<br \/>\n      absence of contemporaneous imports of identical goods, the<br \/>\n      value declared by the appellant should be accepted as<br \/>\n      transaction value and not to be rejected.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIn relation to the confiscation of the R-22 gas filled cylinders, the Tribunal<\/p>\n<p>held that the confiscation of the said goods was justified on the ground that<\/p>\n<p>the said goods had to be imported against an actual user license, which the<\/p>\n<p>respondent did not possess. The Tribunal also deleted the penalty levied on<\/p>\n<p>the respondent on the ground that since the value enhancement had not been<\/p>\n<p>upheld by it, there was no cause for imposition of penalty.<\/p>\n<p>10.   Hence, the present appeal.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                               6<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>11.        Mr. K. Swami, learned counsel appearing for the revenue, while<\/p>\n<p>           assailing the order of the Tribunal, strenuously urged that since the<\/p>\n<p>           respondent had made mis-declarations in the bill of entry in relation to<\/p>\n<p>           quantity, country of origin and value of the goods, the transaction<\/p>\n<p>           value had to be rejected in terms of Section 14(1) of the Act and Rule<\/p>\n<p>           4(2) of the 1988 Rules. Learned counsel further contended that in the<\/p>\n<p>           absence of contemporaneous imports of identical or similar goods,<\/p>\n<p>           Rule 7 of 1988 Rules would apply. Commending us to the decision of<\/p>\n<p>           the Tribunal in Prasant Glass Works P. Ltd Vs. Collector of<\/p>\n<p>           Customs1, Calcutta which attained finality because of dismissal of<\/p>\n<p>           assessee&#8217;s appeal by this Court in Prasant Glass Works P. Ltd Vs.<\/p>\n<p>           Collector of Customs.2, wherein it was held that in a case where the<\/p>\n<p>           invoice value shown is inadequate, incomplete or erroneous, then<\/p>\n<p>           such invoice and the price declared therein will carry little weight, and<\/p>\n<p>           the department is not required to show that the invoice price is<\/p>\n<p>           defective and cannot be accepted.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>12.        Per contra, Mr. Tarun Gulati, learned counsel appearing for the<\/p>\n<p>           respondent contended that in light of the decisions of this Court in<\/p>\n<p>           Eicher Tractors Ltd., Haryana Vs. Commissioner of Customs,<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">1<\/span><br \/>\n    1996 (87) E.L.T. 518 (Tri.-Del)<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">2<\/span><br \/>\n    1997 (89) E.L.T. A 179<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                                 7<\/span><br \/>\n          Mumbai3 and Varsha Plastics Private Limited &amp; Anr. Vs. Union of<\/p>\n<p>          India &amp; Ors.4, the onus lies on the revenue to establish that the<\/p>\n<p>          transaction value disclosed by the importer is not correct. Learned<\/p>\n<p>          counsel contended that in the instant case, the revenue having failed to<\/p>\n<p>          bring on record any material indicating undervaluation in the invoice,<\/p>\n<p>          the value declared by the importer had to be accepted. While candidly<\/p>\n<p>          conceding that though there could be some discrepancy in the mode of<\/p>\n<p>          declaration of the quantity of certain glassware, in as much as the<\/p>\n<p>          respondent had declared the quantity in sets, whereas the<\/p>\n<p>          Commissioner had gone by the actual numbers, learned counsel<\/p>\n<p>          asserted that as such there was no mis-declaration in relation to the<\/p>\n<p>          assessable value, more so, when the bill of entry was supported by the<\/p>\n<p>          invoice and the packing list. It was thus, pleaded that there is no merit<\/p>\n<p>          in this appeal.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>13.       Thus, the short issue that arises for determination relates to the<\/p>\n<p>          manner of computing the assessable value of the imported goods. For<\/p>\n<p>          the sake of ready reference, it would be useful to extract Sections<\/p>\n<p>          2(41), 14 (1) (as it stood at the relevant time) and 14(1-A) of the Act,<\/p>\n<p>          which read as follows:\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">3<\/span><br \/>\n    (2001) 1 SCC 315<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">4<\/span><br \/>\n    (2009) 3 SCC 365<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                                8<\/span><br \/>\n      &#8220;2(41) `value&#8217;, in relation to any goods, means the value thereof<br \/>\n      determined in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1)<br \/>\n      of Section 14;\n<\/p>\n<p>      14.   Valuation of goods for purposes of assessment.&#8211;(1)<br \/>\n            For the purposes of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of<br \/>\n            1975), or any other law for the time being in force<br \/>\n            whereunder a duty of customs is chargeable on any goods<br \/>\n            by reference to their value, the value of such goods shall<br \/>\n            be deemed to be&#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>      the price at which such or like goods are ordinarily sold, or<br \/>\n      offered for sale, for delivery at the time and place of<br \/>\n      importation or exportation, as the case may be, in the course of<br \/>\n      international trade, where&#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>      (a) the seller and the buyer have no interest in the business of<br \/>\n      each other; or<\/p>\n<p>      (b) one of them has no interest in the business of other, and the<br \/>\n      price is the sole consideration for the sale or offer for sale:<\/p>\n<p>      Provided that such price shall be calculated with reference to<br \/>\n      the rate of exchange as in force on the date on which a bill of<br \/>\n      entry is presented under Section 46, or a shipping bill or bill of<br \/>\n      export, as the case may be, is presented under Section 50;<\/p>\n<p>      (1A) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), the price<br \/>\n      referred to in that sub-section in respect of imported goods shall<br \/>\n      be determined in accordance with the rules made in this<br \/>\n      behalf.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>14.   It would be also useful to extract Rules 2(f), 3 and 4 of the 1988<\/p>\n<p>      Rules, which provide that:\n<\/p>\n<p>      &#8220;2(f) &#8220;transaction value&#8221; means the value determined in<br \/>\n      accordance with Rule 4 of these rules.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                           9<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>      3. Determination of the method of valuation.-For the purpose<br \/>\n      of these rules &#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>             i. the value of imported goods shall be the transaction<br \/>\n      value,<br \/>\n             ii. if value cannot be determined under the provisions of<br \/>\n      clause (i) above, the value shall be determined by proceeding<br \/>\n      sequentially through Rules 5 to 8 of these rules.<\/p>\n<p>      4. Transaction value.&#8211;(1) The transaction value of imported<br \/>\n      goods shall be the price actually paid or payable for the goods<br \/>\n      when sold for export to India, adjusted in accordance with the<br \/>\n      provisions of Rule 9 of these rules.\n<\/p>\n<p>       (2) The transaction value of imported goods under sub-rule (1)<br \/>\n       above shall be accepted:\n<\/p>\n<p>              Provided that&#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>              (a) there are no restrictions as to the disposition or use of<br \/>\n       the goods by the buyer other than restrictions which&#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>              (i) are imposed or required by law or by the public<br \/>\n       authorities in India; or\n<\/p>\n<p>              (ii) limit the geographical area in which the goods may<br \/>\n              be resold; or\n<\/p>\n<p>              (iii) do not substantially affect the value of the goods;\n<\/p>\n<p>              (b) the sale or price is not subject to same condition or<br \/>\n       consideration for which a value cannot be determined in respect<br \/>\n       of the goods being valued;\n<\/p>\n<p>(c) no part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale, disposal or use of<br \/>\nthe goods by the buyer will accrue directly or indirectly to the seller,<br \/>\nunless an appropriate adjustment can be made in accordance with the<br \/>\nprovisions of Rule 9 of these rules; and\n<\/p>\n<p>              (d) the buyer and seller are not related, or where the<br \/>\n       buyer and seller are related, that transaction value is acceptable<br \/>\n       for customs purposes under the provisions of sub-rule (3)<br \/>\n       below.\n<\/p>\n<p>      (3)(a) Where the buyer and seller are related, the transaction<br \/>\n      value shall be accepted provided that the examination of the<br \/>\n      circumstances of the sale of the imported goods indicate that<br \/>\n      the relationship did not influence the price.\n<\/p>\n<p>             (b) In a sale between related persons, the transaction<br \/>\n      value shall be accepted, whenever the importer demonstrates<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                              1<\/span><br \/>\n          that the declared value of the goods being valued, closely<br \/>\n          approximates to one of the following values ascertained at or<br \/>\n          about the same time&#8211;\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>                (i) the transaction value of identical goods, or of similar<br \/>\n                goods, in sales to unrelated buyers in India;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                (ii) the deductive value for identical goods or similar<br \/>\n                goods;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                (iii) the computed value for identical goods or similar<br \/>\n                goods:\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                Provided that in applying the values used for comparison,<br \/>\n                due account shall be taken of demonstrated difference in<br \/>\n                commercial levels, quantity levels, adjustments in<br \/>\n                accordance with the provisions of Rule 9 of these Rules<br \/>\n                and cost incurred by the seller in sales in which he and<br \/>\n                the buyer are not related;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>                (c) substitute values shall not be established under the<br \/>\n                provisions of clause (b) of this sub-rule.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>15.       Both Sections 14(1) of the Act (as it existed at the relevant time) and<\/p>\n<p>          Rule 4 of the 1988 Rules provide that the price paid by an importer to<\/p>\n<p>          the vendor in the ordinary course of commerce shall be taken to be the<\/p>\n<p>          transaction value in the absence of any of the special circumstances<\/p>\n<p>          indicated in Section 14(1) of the Act and particularized in Rule 4(2) of<\/p>\n<p>          the 1988 Rules. Therefore, the Customs authorities are bound by the<\/p>\n<p>          declaration of the importer unless on the basis of some<\/p>\n<p>          contemporaneous evidence the Revenue is able to demonstrate that<\/p>\n<p>          the invoice does not reflect the correct value. (See: Commissioner of<\/p>\n<p>          Customs, Mumbai Vs. J.D. Orgochem Limited5 and Commissioner<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">5<\/span><br \/>\n    (2008) 16 SCC 576<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                               1<\/span><br \/>\n          of Customs, Calcutta Vs. South India Television (P) Ltd.6) It is only<\/p>\n<p>          when the transaction value under Rule 4 is rejected, that by virtue of<\/p>\n<p>          Rule 3(ii), the value shall be determined by proceeding sequentially<\/p>\n<p>          through Rule 5 to 8 of the 1988 Rules. (See: Commissioner of<\/p>\n<p>          Customs, Mumbai Vs. Bureau Veritas &amp; Ors.7 and Eicher Tractors<\/p>\n<p>          Ltd. (supra)). Rule 5 allows for the transaction value to be computed<\/p>\n<p>          on the basis of identical goods imported into at the same time whereas<\/p>\n<p>          Rule 6 provides for the computation of transaction value on the basis<\/p>\n<p>          of the value of similar goods imported into India at the same time as<\/p>\n<p>          the subject goods. In the absence of contemporaneous imports into<\/p>\n<p>          India, the value is to be determined under Rule 7 on the basis of a<\/p>\n<p>          process of deduction contemplated therein. If this is not possible, then<\/p>\n<p>          recourse must be had to Rule 7-A, and if none of these methods can<\/p>\n<p>          be employed to compute the transaction value, Rule 8 provides that<\/p>\n<p>          the transaction value can be determined by using reasonable means<\/p>\n<p>          consistent with the principles and general provisions of these Rules<\/p>\n<p>          and sub-section (1) of Section 14 of the Act and on the basis of data<\/p>\n<p>          available in India.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">6<\/span><br \/>\n    (2007) 6 SCC 373<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">7<\/span><br \/>\n    (2005) 3 SCC 265<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                               1<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>16.       In Varsha Plastics Private Limited (supra), this Court while dealing<\/p>\n<p>          with a similar situation where the importer had misdeclared in terms<\/p>\n<p>          of value, description and quality of the imported goods, had held that:<\/p>\n<p>          &#8220;It has to be kept in mind that once the nature of goods has<br \/>\n          been misdeclared, the value declared on the imported goods<br \/>\n          becomes unacceptable. It does not in any way affect the legal<br \/>\n          position that the burden is on the Customs Authorities to<br \/>\n          establish the case of misdeclaration of goods or valuation or<br \/>\n          that the declared price did not reflect the true transaction<br \/>\n          value.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>17.       Similarly, in Collector of Customs, Calcutta Vs. Sanjay Chandiram8,<\/p>\n<p>          a three judge bench of this Court observed that:<\/p>\n<p>          &#8220;These rules are based on the assumption that the price actually<br \/>\n          paid or payable for the goods has been genuinely disclosed by<br \/>\n          the importer. But, if the certificates of origin of the goods have<br \/>\n          been found to be false, the value declared in the invoices cannot<br \/>\n          be accepted as genuine.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>18.       It is evident from a bare reading of the impugned order that having<\/p>\n<p>          regard to the factual scenario emerging from the record, the Tribunal<\/p>\n<p>          has failed to apply the procedure envisaged in Section 14(1) of the<\/p>\n<p>          Act read with 1988 Rules for determining the value of the imported<\/p>\n<p>          goods. Having carefully perused the Tribunal&#8217;s order, in particular the<\/p>\n<p>          above-extracted paragraph, we are convinced that the finding of the<\/p>\n<p>          Tribunal in para 6 (supra) of the impugned order is clearly perverse<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">8<\/span><br \/>\n    (1995) 4 SCC 222<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                               1<\/span><br \/>\n      and cannot be sustained, particularly in light of the fact that the<\/p>\n<p>      information collected    by the revenue from the market, veracity<\/p>\n<p>      whereof was not questioned by the respondent, has also not been<\/p>\n<p>      examined by the Tribunal. Importantly, the Tribunal has also<\/p>\n<p>      overlooked the statement made by the respondent on 13th September<\/p>\n<p>      2002 under Section 108 of the Act, whereby he admitted that there<\/p>\n<p>      was difference between the items declared, and the items actually<\/p>\n<p>      seized by the Customs authorities, and that the value arrived at after<\/p>\n<p>      market enquiries was acceptable to him. The said statement was not<\/p>\n<p>      contested by the respondent either before the Commissioner or the<\/p>\n<p>      Tribunal.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>19.   In light of the foregoing discussion, we are of the opinion that the<\/p>\n<p>      Tribunal needs to re-examine the entire matter afresh, particularly in<\/p>\n<p>      relation to the manner of valuation, redemption fine and penalty.<\/p>\n<p>      Consequently, the appeal is allowed, and the matter is remitted back<\/p>\n<p>      to the Tribunal for fresh consideration in accordance with law after<\/p>\n<p>      affording proper opportunity of hearing to both the parties.<\/p>\n<p>20.   There will be no order as to costs.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                         1<\/span><br \/>\n                    &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.J.\n<\/p>\n<p>                    (D.K. JAIN)<\/p>\n<p>                    &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..J.<br \/>\n                    (T.S. THAKUR)<br \/>\nNEW DELHI;\n<\/p>\n<p>OCTOBER 29, 2010.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                               1<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) &#8230; vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010 Author: D Jain Bench: D.K. Jain, T.S. Thakur REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1608 of 2005 COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS &#8212; APPELLANT (GEN), MUMBAI VERSUS ABDULLA KOYLOTH &#8212; RESPONDENT JUDGMENT D.K. JAIN, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) ... vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) ... vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LegalindiaCom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-10-28T18:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-02-04T11:45:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Legal India Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@legaliadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Legal_india\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Legal India Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Legal India Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea\"},\"headline\":\"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) &#8230; vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-10-28T18:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-04T11:45:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010\"},\"wordCount\":3226,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Supreme Court of India\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010\",\"name\":\"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) ... vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-10-28T18:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-04T11:45:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) &#8230; vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/\",\"name\":\"Free Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India\",\"description\":\"Search and read the latest judgements, orders, and rulings from the Supreme Court of India and all High Courts. A comprehensive database for lawyers, advocates, and law students.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Free judgements of Supreme Court & High Court of India | Legal India\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India\",\"alternateName\":\"Legal India\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LegalindiaCom\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Legal_india\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea\",\"name\":\"Legal India Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Legal India Admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/legaliadmin\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/author\/legal-india-admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) ... vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) ... vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","og_url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010","og_site_name":"Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LegalindiaCom\/","article_published_time":"2010-10-28T18:30:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-02-04T11:45:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":512,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Legal India Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@legaliadmin","twitter_site":"@Legal_india","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Legal India Admin","Est. reading time":"16 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010"},"author":{"name":"Legal India Admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea"},"headline":"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) &#8230; vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010","datePublished":"2010-10-28T18:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-02-04T11:45:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010"},"wordCount":3226,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Supreme Court of India"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010","name":"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) ... vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-10-28T18:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-02-04T11:45:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/the-commnr-of-customsgen-vs-abdulla-koyloth-on-29-october-2010#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Commnr. Of Customs(Gen) &#8230; vs Abdulla Koyloth on 29 October, 2010"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/","name":"Free Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India","description":"Search and read the latest judgements, orders, and rulings from the Supreme Court of India and all High Courts. A comprehensive database for lawyers, advocates, and law students.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Free judgements of Supreme Court & High Court of India | Legal India","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization","name":"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India","alternateName":"Legal India","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LegalindiaCom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Legal_india"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea","name":"Legal India Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Legal India Admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.legalindia.com","https:\/\/x.com\/legaliadmin"],"url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/author\/legal-india-admin"}]}},"modified_by":null,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188108\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}