In Brief
The respondent imported aluminum scrap and declared the transaction value for customs duty purposes. The Assessing Officer rejected the declared value and enhanced it without providing proper reasons or evidence that the declared price was not the sole consideration for the transaction. The Tribunal allowed the respondent's appeal and restored the declared value. The Supreme Court dismissed the Revenue's appeal, holding that under the Customs Act, assessable value must ordinarily be the price actually paid. The Assessing Officer can reject this only with cogent reasons, contemporaneous evidence of higher-priced comparable imports, and proof that the declared price was not the sole consideration. Since the Assessing Officer failed to undertake this required exercise, the rejection was erroneous.
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