D. Thotawatte, J.

Factual Background Introduction:

The impugned Sri Lanka Customs inquiry stemmed from a post-clearance investigation into the importation of submarine telecommunication cables by Dialog Axiata PLC for the Bay of Bengal Gateway (“BBG”) project. The Petitioner, a telecommunications service provider, participated as a member of an international consortium responsible for establishing this undersea fiber-optic cable system connecting Sri Lanka with the Middle East and Asia. In furtherance of this project, Dialog Axiata PLC (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “Petitioner”) together with other members of the consortium had entered into a what is described by the Petitioner as a “turnkey” contract (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “contract”) with Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks of France (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “ALSN”), for “work and build the system” which inter alia consisted of supply and installation of the Sri Lankan segment of the submarine cable system. According to clause 13.1.1 of the contract, the total contract price amounted to USD 179,705,194 on Delivered Duty Unpaid terms (DDU), of which Dialog’s investment was approximately