2018 (6) TMI 1025 - AT - Customs

Classification of imported goods - Vitamin AD/3 500/1000 IU/GM-2 - whether classifiable under Chapter Heading 2309.90 as claimed by the Appellant or classifiable under Chapter Heading 2936.90 as claimed by the Revenue? - Held that - The goods Vitamin AD/3 500/100 IU/GM-2 imported from Isarel is the product in admixture of Vitamins and other ingredients which is a poultry feeds supplements and contains the ingredients specially added therein - the goods imported by appellant is classifiable under Chapter Heading 2309. On the issue of very same product, this tribunal in the case of Chokhani Pharma Vet V/s CCE, Mumbai 1999 (10) TMI 453 - CEGAT, MUMBAI held that Rovimix AD3 500/100 which contains vitamins as active ingredients like starch etc. is classifiable under Sub-heading 2309.90 of the Tariff Act, 1975 and heading 23.02 of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. Appeal allowed - decided in favor of appellant.

Summary

Issues involved:
Classification of goods imported (Vitamin AD/3 500/1000 IU/GM-2) from Israel under Chapter Heading 2309.90 or Chapter Heading 2936.90.

Analysis:
The case involved a dispute over the classification of imported goods, namely Vitamin AD/3 500/1000 IU/GM-2, under Chapter Heading 2309.90 or Chapter Heading 2936.90. The appellant argued that the product should be classified under Chapter Heading 2309.90 as Poultry Feed Supplements based on ingredients added for animal feed purposes. The appellant relied on Circular No. 188/22/96-CX, which clarified the classification of such products as Animal Feed Supplements under Chapter 23. The tribunal examined the product composition and found it to be similar to the products discussed in the circular, leading to the classification under Chapter Heading 2309.

In a related case, the tribunal had previously ruled in Chokhani Pharma Vet that a similar product, Rovimix AD3 500/100, containing vitamins and starch, was classified under Sub-heading 2309.90 and Heading 23.02. The tribunal emphasized the importance of following precedents set by superior forums when citing relevant judgments. Similarly, in the case of Avet Chemicals, the tribunal classified a product as a preparation used in animal feeding under Heading 23.09 for Customs purposes and 23.02 for Central Excise purposes.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court in Tetragon Chemie Ltd. held that products consisting of vitamins mixed with dilutants for animal feed supplements fell under Heading 23.02 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, not as an intermixture of vitamins under sub-heading 29.36. The court emphasized that even supplements used in animal feeding are classified under Heading 2302. Based on these judgments, including the Chokhani case, the tribunal concluded that the issue was settled, setting aside the impugned order and allowing the appeal.

Therefore, the classification of the imported goods as Poultry Feed Supplements under Chapter Heading 2309.90 was upheld based on the product composition and relevant legal precedents, leading to the allowance of the appeal.