2026-VIL-1739-CESTAT-ALH-CU
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CUSTOMS CESTAT Cases

Customs – Challenge to enhancement of declared value accepted by the importer through a letter of acceptance - Appellant imported polyester knitted fabrics under Bills of Entry, and the Respondent rejected the declared value under Rule 12 of the Customs Valuation Rules, 2007 on the basis of contemporaneous import data, whereupon the Appellant, whose requests for provisional clearance were not acted upon, submitted letters of acceptance, and the Commissioner (Appeals) rejected the appeals holding that no speaking order under Section 17(5) of the Customs Act, 1962 was required - Whether the appeals were correctly rejected on the ground that the Appellant accepted the enhancement of value in writing at the time of clearance - HELD - Rule 12(2) mandates that the proper officer must intimate to the importer in writing the grounds for doubting the truth or accuracy of the declared value, and this mandate cannot be ignored or waived. Formation of opinion regarding reasonable doubt and communication of the grounds is mandatory, and a subterfuge to bypass the statutory mandate is unacceptable. The facts are similar to the case before the Supreme Court where repeated requests for provisional assessment were ignored and the importer was forced to submit a letter of acceptance. The letters of acceptance do not mention any details of the alleged contemporaneous import data, and there is a wide gap which has not been bridged by the Respondent, so their contents cannot be taken at face value. Under Section 17(5), the waiver is confined to the speaking order which the proper officer is obliged to pass, and it does not deprive the importer of the statutory right to question the correctness of the decision of the proper officer, whether on the formation of opinion or on merits. A valuation addition based solely on NIDB data is unwarranted and any reassessment must be supported by independent and cogent evidence. The Commissioner (Appeals) failed to take into account the ratio of the Supreme Court judgment in its entirety, and the issue is squarely covered by the judgment of the Delhi High Court - The impugned orders are not sustainable in law, and all the appeals are allowed
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