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1995 (3) TMI 223

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..... ecause mere throwing of molten metal into water does not satisfy the definition of castings. The definition of the term casting as defined in the Chambers Dictionary of Science and Technology 1971 has been referred to by him. It has been defined in the said dictionary as the operation of pouring of molten metals into sand or metal moulds in which they solidify. Another definition was that the term casting referred to a metallic article cast to the shape required as distinct from one shaped by working. It has been pointed out in the appeal that in the revised Tariff Item 25 that came into effect from 1-3-1983, shot and angular grit have been specified under sub-item 4 of Item 25 while castings of Iron or Steel not otherwise specified have been specified under sub-item 16 of Item 25 which clearly indicated that shot and grit were different from castings. It has then been urged that castings are products obtained by pouring molten metal in a die mould/pattern followed by cooling the same enabling the molten mass to take the shape of such die, mould or pattern. But in the manufacture of shots and grits no such procedure is foll-owed and, therefore, shots and grits do not merit classi .....

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..... en their earlier case was decided by the Tribunal holding the goods in question to be classifiable under Item 68 of the Tariff and not as castings. 6. We have considered the above contention which we find to be devoid of merit. Though the Bharat Forge and Press Industries judgment of the Supreme Court was admittedly not available before the Tribunal when their earlier appeal was decided the proposition therein referred to in the note of submission is of an earlier vintage. This unexceptionable proposition which was not missed and which could not be said to have been missed by the Tribunal in that decision had been felicitously, we would respectfully submit, expressed by the Honourable Supreme Court in Dunlop India Ltd. and Madras Rubber Factory Ltd. v. Union of India, reported in AIR 1977 SC 597 = 1983 (13) E.L.T. 1566 in the following words :- When an article has, by all standards, a reasonable claim to be classified under an enumerated item in the Tariff Schedule it will be against the very principle of classification to deny it the parentage and consign it to an orphanage of the residuary clause. 7. As against the definition in Standard Technical dictionaries and Referen .....

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..... 976-77 Chilled Grits and shots were classifiable under A. 7.1. Iron Castings. (v) The decision of Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra State Bombay that steel shots fall within the scope of the term steel castings. (vi) The letter dated 5-9-1987 from the Institute of Indian Foundrymen addressed to the respondents that steel shots and grits produced by pouring molten metal into a trough and subjecting it to a water jet to give particular shape and size under forced cooling conditions fulfil all basic conditions for a cast product. The process is a casting process. (vii) The certificate dated 21-9-1987 issued by Dr. N.P. Sinha of Foundry and Metallurgical Services. Foundry Engineers and Consultant, Calcutta opining that Steel shots are a type of castings made from liquid metal to solid shape in one step and that they are manufactured by a non-conventional process i.e. atomising without using any refractory or metallic mould. The process by which shots could be manufactured have been referred to as spinning wheel centrifugal casting process and atomisation process using water jet. Conventional sand moulding is not used. It has been opined by Dr. Sinha in his certificate that w .....

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..... lia some of the references and authorities now placed before us by the respondents. These are :- (1) The decision of Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra State (which has been referred to as Serial Number (V) on page 6 ante of this order.) (2) The certificate dated 18-9-1986 of Engineering Export Promotion Council. The Tribunal s findings are contained in para 5 of their order which is extracted below :- 5. These shots and grits are not castings because they have not been formed in the way castings are formed. They have not been given their characteristic spherical shape by another shaping device, but acquire it when the molten iron is ejected from the laddle to form tiny pellets or balls which solidify on contact with the water. It is, therefore, not correct to say that these balls are castings. Even if some government agencies regard them as castings, we cannot do so, because we are satisfied that they are not castings and that the process of making them was not the process of casting. Therefore, assessment under Item 26AA is not correct. This decision has been appealed against by the present respondents to the Supreme Court. The order has, however, not been stayed .....

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..... d to Steel Shots as Cast Steel Shots, it was observed that unfortunately the appellants had given only a few pages of this work. The full publication was necessary to see the full morphology of the descriptive nomenclature they use. The Tribunal then referred to the appellants contention that in the Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature these shots were classified as Iron and Steel Products. This contention did not find favour with them as the Central Excise Tariff, it was noted, did not have the same structure as the CCCN. Even here it is to be noted that Steel shots and grits fall under the classification 7205.10 as granules. Steel shots are described as being produced by pouring liquid iron or steel into cold water or into a jet of steam. The grits are obtained by the crushing of shot or cold crushing sheets etc. of hardened metal. Thus we find that in the CCCN Steel shots and grits are classified separately as granules and they are not treated as castings. It has been pointed out in the appeal that in the Central Excise Tariff which was effective from 1-8-1983 shots and angular grits of Iron and Steel were specified under Item 25(4) whereas Steel Castings not otherwise spec .....

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