9911796707
TMI Blog1983 (2) TMI 306X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the consignment on payment of duty so assessed, the appellants filed a refund application before the Assistant Collector of Customs, Bombay claiming re-assessment of the goods under sub-heading (1) of the aforesaid heading. The Assistant Collector rejected the refund application having regard to the invoice description of the goods and his finding that the goods in question were .inter-changeable with Singer sewing machines model 103-10 which requires for its operation less than 1/4 HP. Aggrieved with this order the appellants preferred an appeal to the Appellate Collector of Customs, Bombay. The Appellate Collector held that the sewing machines of which the imported goods were parts were domestic sewing machines and not industrial sewing machines and rejected the appeal. It is against this order that the appellants have filed a Revision Application before the Government of India which, as stated earlier, is to be disposed of by the Tribunal as if it were an appeal filed before it. 3. Shri Sogani, appearing for the Appellants, submitted that under the Customs Tariff Schedule of 1975, the Horsepower of the motor required for operation of the sewing machine was not a releva ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hedule. 5. Shri Raghavan Iyer, appearing for the Respondent, submitted that the finding that the TA-I model of sewing machines, for which the imported goods were parts, were inter-changeable with domestic sewing machines has not been disputed by the Appellants before the Assistant Collector or the Appellate Collector nor even in the Revision Application. Though domestic machines have not been defined in the Tariff, reference could be usefully made, Shri Iyer urged, to the judgment of the Gujarat High Court in M/s. Viswa & Co. v. State of Gujarat - (1966) 17 STC 581 (Guj.). In the said judgment, the High Court had held that reference to the expression "Domestic Electrical Appliances" would connote electrical appliances of a kind generally used for domestic purposes. The fact that a domestic electric appliance is used out of the household also would not vitiate its character of domestic appliance. It should generally be used for household purposes. Shri Iyer also referred to the explanation appearing in Central Excise Tariff Item No. 33-C according to which "domestic electrical appliances" means "electrical appliances normally used in the household and similar appliances used ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing of the lower authorities that the parts are capable of use in singer domestic sewing machine model 103-10 has not been rebutted by the appellants. The fact that such machines may be used in industrial establishments would not detract from the position that they are basically domestic sewing machines. This view is supported by the Gujarat High Court judgment in the case of Viswa & Co. referred to by Shri Iyer. 10. The Appellants had referred to Indian Standard Specification IS : 6903-1973 which is titled "Glossory of Terms relating to Sewing Machines for household purposes". An extract of this glossary has been produced by the Appellants in support of their contention that since it does not make a mention of 'rotating hooks', the latter do not form parts of domestic sewing machines. Similarly, they have produced extracts from Indian Standard Specification IS : 8892-1978 titled "Specification for bobbins for sewing machines with rotating hooks for industrial use" in support of their contention that 'rotating hooks' are for industrial sewing machines only. The Bench finds it difficult to accept these two Standards as evidence clinching the issue in favour of the Appellants. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e needles". Sewing machines ; furniture specially designed for sewing machines ; Sewing machine needles : (1) not elsewhere specified; (2) domestic sewing machines". Relevant extracts from the Explanatory Notes to BTN under heading 84.41 are also reproduced below : "In addition to the ordinary sewing machines used in the home or by tailors, dress-makers, etc., the heading also covers special machines which can be used only for certain other kinds of sewing, such as : (1) Sewing machines used in the manufacture or mending of boots or shoes or for other leather sewing. (2) Machines for button-hole sewing; these may include a device for cutting the botton-hole. (3) Machines for sewing on buttons. (4) Machines for sewing up straw hats. (5) Machines for sewing furs. (6) Machines for sewing up sacks after filling (flour or cement sacks, etc.); these machines may be suspended and generally have no shuttles. (7) Machines for sewing up tears in sacks. (8) Over-sewing machines for the manufacture of sacks, for working the edges of blankets, carpets, etc. (9) Hem-stitching and blanket-stitching machines. (10) Machines for sewing together, edge to edge, parts of knitted garments ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... w that the said heading covers 2 types of sewing machines (plus some other articles), namely, ordinary sewing machines used in homes or by tailors, dress makers, etc. and special machines which can be used for some other kinds of sewing, the examples given of the latter special machines being essentially ones for industrial application. It would, therefore, be appropriate to interpret sub-heading (2) of heading 84.41 of the Customs Tariff Schedule "Domestic sewing machines" as embracing within its scope such ordinary sewing machines as are used in homes or by tailors, dress makers, etc. 13. In the present case, the finding of the Assistant Collector that the goods imported by the appellants were found to be capable of being used in Singer sewing machines model 310 (which is stated to be a domestic sewing machine) has not been rebutted either in appeal or in the revision application. Further, as the Appellate Collector has noted, the sewing machine of Model TA-I-C-10 (of which the "rotating hook" is claimed to be a part) is described as most suitable for tailors and dress making shops unlike other models which are described in the catalogue produced by the appellants as ideal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
