2010 (7) TMI 370 - AT - Central Excise

Classification - appeal filed by the department before Supreme Court also stands rejected as reported in 1995 -TMI - 44743 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA accepting the stand of the assessee of classification of the product under Chapter 84 - Supreme Court was in the contest of Customs Tariff and was subsequently followed by the Tribunal in the case of Collector of Customs, Madras v. Kumudan Publications (P) Ltd. - The Revenue s grievance is that they have not accepted the said decision of the Tribunal and has filed an appeal thereagainst before the Hon ble Supreme Court - description of the goods under both the headings identical in which case the ratio of the law declared by the Tribunal and confirmed by the Hon ble Supreme Court, apply - appeal filed by revenue rejected.

Summary

Issues: Classification of aluminium sensitized off set plates under Customs Tariff Act and Central Excise Tariff Act.

Analysis:
1. The dispute in the present appeal concerns the classification of aluminium sensitized off set plates manufactured by the respondent. Both the original adjudicating authority and the Commissioner (Appeals) accepted the assessee's classification under Heading 8442.00, rejecting the Revenue's stance of classification under Heading 3701.90.

2. The Commissioner (Appeals) relied on the Tribunal's judgment in Collector of Customs, Madras v. Kumudan Publications (P) Ltd., which held that presensitized printing plates are classifiable under Heading 8442 of Customs Tariff, not under Heading 3701. Reference was also made to the Supreme Court's decision in a related appeal by the Commissioner of Customs, which was dismissed.

3. The Supreme Court's decision, followed by the Tribunal in the aforementioned case, was in the context of the Customs Tariff Act. The Revenue expressed dissatisfaction with the Tribunal's decision and appealed to the Supreme Court, but their appeal was also dismissed.

4. The Tribunal noted that the decisions were made under the Customs Tariff Act, while the current dispute falls under the Central Excise Tariff Act. However, both Acts have aligned entries to the Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) and share identical descriptions for the goods in question. Therefore, the Tribunal upheld the assessee's classification under Chapter 84 based on the law declared by the Tribunal and confirmed by the Supreme Court, rejecting the Revenue's appeal.

5. After careful consideration, the Tribunal agreed with the learned advocate's argument that the law declared by the Tribunal and upheld by the Supreme Court should apply due to the identical nature of entries under Chapter 84 in both the Customs Tariff Act and the Central Excise Tariff Act. Consequently, the appeal filed by the Revenue was rejected.

Judgment: The appeal of the Revenue regarding the classification of aluminium sensitized off set plates was rejected by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, Ahmedabad, based on the alignment of entries under Chapter 84 in the Customs Tariff Act and the Central Excise Tariff Act, following the law declared by the Tribunal and confirmed by the Supreme Court in a related matter.