The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) allowed a customs appeal and observed that an importer is precluded from challenging enhancement on voluntary acceptance enhancement.
The respondent imported Aluminium Scrap by filing 35 bills of entries at ICD Palwal and self-assessed the duty. The Bills of entries were assessed by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs, ICD Palwal at higher value than the declared value which was voluntarily accepted by the respondent and did not ask for any speaking order and paid enhanced duty voluntarily without any protest.
However, later on, the importer challenged the value assessment and filed appeals before the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), New Delhi who vide the impugned order set aside the re-assessment of goods at enhanced value and restored the self-assessment at the declared value and allowed the appeals filed by the importer.
The counsel who appeared for the Revenue submitted that the impugned order is not sustainable in law as the same has been passed without properly appreciating the facts and evidence on record and without considering the law laid down by the Tribunal on identical issues. He further submitted that the Commissioner (Appeals) did not appreciate that the importer in this case after seeing the contemporaneous import data (prevailing during that period) has agreed to redetermination of value in their reply to query in EDI system and voluntarily forfeited their right of show cause notice and opportunity of personal hearing.
The Counsel further submitted that the department did not follow the procedure contemplated under Rule 12 of the valuation rules to reject the transaction value declared by the importer. He also submitted that NIDB data cannot be the sole basis to reject the transaction value without any cogent reasons and that the burden of proof lies upon the department to prove the charge of under valuation, which burden has not been discharged in the present cas
A Two-Member Bench of the Tribunal comprising observed that “We also find that in the case of Commissioner of Customs (Import), ICD, TKD, New Delhi vs. M/s Sodagar Knitwear Pvt. Ltd. where the Tribunal has held that once the importer voluntary accepted the enhancement then he is precluded from challenging the same. This judgement of the Tribunal has been upheld by the Apex Court.”
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
