In Brief
Century Metal Recycling, an aluminium alloy manufacturer, imported aluminium waste as raw material and disputed the customs valuation of its consignments. The customs authorities rejected the declared transactional value and reassessed it without proper procedure, while allegedly pressuring the company to waive its right to provisional assessment. The Supreme Court held that customs authorities must follow statutory safeguards: they can only reject declared value if there is reasonable doubt based on reasoned enquiry with the importer given a hearing. The Court quashed the assessment orders for non-compliance with the Customs Act and Rules, emphasizing that importer rights to provisional assessment cannot be forcibly waived. The appeal was allowed and orders set aside.
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