Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal - Delhi
Central Railways vs Collector Of Customs on 1 January, 1800
Equivalent citations: 1989(42)ELT471(TRI-DEL)
ORDER I.J. Rao, Member (T)
1. Appeal No. 504/82-B2 was originally filed as a revision application before G.O.I. and on statutory transfer to this Tribunal, is an appeal before us. Order of the Appellate Collector of Customs, impugned in the said revision application, disposed of appeals. The appellants M/s. Central Railways, therefore filed a supplementary appeal (No. 334/87-B2) alongwith an application (No. C.COD/159/87-B2) for condoning the delay in filing the appeal. After hearing Shri D.S. Kulkarni and Shri B.K. Sundaram, representatives of the appellants and Shri J. Gopinath, Ld. SDR for the department, we condoned the delay in filing the appeal. We proceeded with the hearing of both the appeals together as they amanated out of a common order and the facts of both are interconnected.
2. The dispute in the two appeals relates to two items imported by the appellants under two Bills of Entry. Contact plates were imported under B/E Cash HC-1723 dated 20.5.1980. Bushings and contact plates were imported under Bill of Entry No. HC/1578 dated 18.3.1980. In both cases the contact plates and bushings were assessed under Heading 85.17/27(1) CTA. The appellants sought refund of part of customs duty on the plea that goods were eligible to be classified under sub-head (3) of Heading 85.18/27. The importers/appellants claimed that contact plates and bushings are parts of elctrical apparatus for making and breaking electrical circuits at 400 volts and above and are therefore assessable under sub-item (3) of Heading 85.18/27 CTA. The Asstt. Collector rejected the claim in respect of the contact plates and bushings observing that these items are used for insulation purposes and that even though they were component parts of the main machine, they are to be classified under sub-item 1 of Heading 85.18/27 read with Notification No. 172/77-Cus. Further, the Assistant Collector observed that from the catalogue produced as well as write-up given by the appellants, that the goods in question were insulating fittings.
3. The Appellate Collr. upheld the Asstt. Collector's order holding that goods were insulating materials and according to Note No. 2(a) under Section XVI of Customs Tariff, the goods of a kind described in any of the headings of Chapters 84 and 85 (with some stated exceptions) are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings.
4. It is submitted before us by the Ld. representatives for the appellants that the Appellate Collector took note of the appellants' claim for concession under Notification No. 172/77-Cus. but this claim was not considered by him. It was further submitted that contact plates were insulating material but they were component parts of Tap Changer. It was explained that tap changer is used to regulate the speed of electric locomotive. It was also explained that double pole bushings which were also in dispute, were parts of the tap changer and consisted of insulating materials and metal parts. Therefore, as component parts of goods, they fall under 85.18/27(3), and both the imported items are classifiable under this Heading.
5. Shri J. Gopinath, Ld. SDR opposing the arguments, referred to the Asstt. Collector's order and submitted that the bushings were correctly held as an insulators. He explained that both items in question were insulating fittings for electrical items and that they were correctly classified under the Heading 85.17/27(1). He referred to Section Note 2(a) to Section XVI and also pointed out that the concession of Notification No. 172/77 was extended to the appellants by the Asstt. Collector.
6. We have considered the arguments of both sides. The questions that arise for decision before us are;
(i) whether the articles contact plates and bushings double, are insulating fittings for electrical items or not; and
(ii) what is the correct classification 01 the two articles.
7. We have noted the appellants' submissions that the contact plates are insulating fittings but they should be considered as parts of electrical apparatus for making and breaking electrical circuits. It may be a fact that the contact plates are component parts of electrical apparatus as stated by the appellants. However, this does not mean that their being insulating fittings in electrical apparatus can the ignored. In this context we have referred to Note 2(a) under Sec. XVI of the Customs Tariff. This note reads as follows:
2(a) "goods of a kind described in any of the Headings of Chapter 84 and 85 (other than Heading Nos. 84.65 and 85.28) are in all cases to be classified in their respective Headings.
8. Heading 85.18/27 covers, inter alia, insulating fittings for electrical equipments. In terms of Section note 2(a) (supra), the goods under consideration having been described in this Heading, have to be classified under the Heading. There is no dispute in this regard. The case of the appellants is that the goods must be classified under Sub-item (3) instead of under Sub-item (1) of this Heading 85.18/27.
9. In this context we have referred to earlier judgment of the Tribunal in case of Mis. Emco Transformers Limited, Bombay v. Collector of Customs, Bombay reported in 1986 (24) ELT 84 (Tribunal), wherein a similar question was considered. In that appeal, Transformer board strips were held to be classifiable under Heading 85.18/27(1)-and not as parts of the transformer under Section 85.01(1). In this context the Bench observed as follows:
"And since in the Scheme of the CTA, the statutory Note 2 to Section XVI lays down "that the specific heading for the parts themselves has to take precedence over the heading for the machine or equipment of which it is a part, the goods are appropriately classifiable under heading 85.18/27(1) under which they have been assessed. Heading 85.01(1) canvassed by the appellants would be appropriate only if a specific heading for the parts themselves was not in the Tariff. Such is not the case in respect of the subject goods".
10. Similar considerations have to prevail in the present matter also as the imported goods, though they are electrical parts of electrical machinery for making and breaking electrical circuits, are specifically covered under Heading 85.18/27(1) inasmuch as the goods imported are insulating fittings for elecrical equipment and such identity of the goods was not lost. Since none of the other sub-items, namely (2) & (3) of Heading 85.18/27, covers insulating fittings for electrical equipments, the classification, therefore, has to be made under Section 85.18/27(1) as "not elsewhere specified. The same is the case with the bushings which too are parts of electrical machinery but are insulating fittings by themselves. Therefore, for the reasons we have discussed above, we hold that the imported goods correctly classified under Heading 85.18/27(1). We, therefore, were dismiss both the appeals.