1992 (10) TMI 202 - AT - Customs

Summary

Issues:
1. Classification under Customs Tariff Act and extension of benefit of Notification No. 179/80-Cus.
2. Classification under Central Excise Tariff for countervailing duty.
3. Availability of benefit of Notification No. 179/80-Cus. to imported goods.

Analysis:
1. The case involved a dispute regarding the classification of imported diamond gang saw blades under Customs Tariff and Central Excise Tariff. The Assistant Collector initially assessed the goods under Tariff Heading 82.01/04 for countervailing duty. On appeal, the Collector of Customs classified the goods under Tariff Heading 84.45/48, extending the benefit of Notification No. 179/80-Cus. The Revenue appealed against this classification.

2. The Revenue challenged the classification under Customs Tariff Act and the extension of the benefit of Notification No. 179/80-Cus. The respondents filed cross-objections concerning the classification under Central Excise Tariff for countervailing duty. The respondents did not press their objections regarding the classification of the goods under Tariff Item 68.

3. The main issue was whether the benefit of Notification No. 179/80-Cus. was available to the imported gang saw blades. The Tribunal analyzed the wording of the notification, which exempted parts required for the assembly or manufacture of articles falling under specific headings, without the need for specific classification of the parts. The notification focused on the article in which the parts were used, not on the classification of the parts themselves. As the gang saw blades were imported for use in the manufacture of machine saws, and a certificate from a competent authority was available, the benefit of the notification was deemed applicable.

4. The Tribunal referred to a Supreme Court judgment and a Tribunal decision concerning similar notifications, emphasizing that the focus was on the use of the imported parts in the manufacture of specific articles falling under particular tariff headings. As the imported saw blades were parts of machine saws falling under Tariff Heading 84.45/48, and were necessary for the manufacture of machine saws, the benefit of Notification No. 179/80-Cus. was rightfully extended to the importers. Consequently, the Revenue's appeal was rejected, and the cross-objections were dismissed as not pressed.