9911796707
TMI Blog1984 (3) TMI 379X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or under Item 68 of the Central Excise Tariff. To facilitate the discussion, the two tariff items are reproduced below :- 49. Rolling bearings, that is to say, ball or roller bearings, all sorts. 68. All other goods, not elsewhere specified, excluding-............ . 3. During the hearing before us today, the appellants pressed for the following three arguments :- (1) Needle roller cages were only a part or component of a bearing and not a complete bearing in themselves. Since Tariff Item 49 covered only complete bearings, parts of bearings rightly fell under Item 68. (2) The show cause notices and demands for duty served on the appellants for the differential higher duty under Item 49 were without jurisdiction as their c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he appellants. The appellants thereupon referred to the technical note of their expert, Shri S.S. Lele, and to the certificates dated 22-9-1981 and 24-9-1981 of M/s. Auto Engineering Corporation, Bombay, and M/s. Mafatlal Engineering Industries Ltd., Kalwe. All these three documents were before the Assistant Collector before he passed his Orders-in-Original. These documents state that a needle cage is not a complete bearing in itself and requires an inner race and an outer race to become a complete bearing. The appellants produced the Indian Standards Specification : 4216-1981 which described the cages as components of rolling bearings. The Bench had also the benefit of seeing the Glossary of Terms Relating to Rolling Bearings (IS : 2399-19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... used in the big-end of the connecting rod. For the small-end Needle Cages centred on the inner diameter are used. These cages extend beyond the width of connecting rod small-end and thereby permit the maximum possible needle lengths to be used. A reduction in unit load is thus effected which, in turn, leads to higher operating lives. Lateral location of the connecting rod is brought about by controlling the clearance between the big-end and the crank webs. The crankshaft is supported in two Combined Needle Bearings (Type RAX). These bearings carry the radial loads and also serve to locate the crankshaft axially. The use of the Needle Cages and Needle Bearings give high load carrying capacities in the small operating spaces available. Hi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ined that a bearing could function without an outer race or inner race. In this connection, he referred to the appellants catalogue (extracts already reproduced above) and argued that the cage itself functioned as a bearing in the particular mechanism. Inasmuch as Tariff Item 49 read as Rolling bearings,......, all sorts , it was wide enough to take in the cages as well. He read from pages 405, 406 and 631 of the book, Machinery Handbook , Twenty-First Edition, published by the Industrial Press Incorporated, to say that with improved technology in-built mechanism were being provided in the machinery obviating the need for outer race and/or inner race. The International Standard relied on by the appellants was still at the draft stage and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e itself as a complete bearing. Without the support of a housing or outer race, the cage is simply incapable of taking the required load; it would break in the process. The words all sorts in Tariff Item 49 referred to various types of complete rolling bearings. They cannot have the effect of including parts and components of bearings within the scope of this item. The appellants are right in pointing out that wherever the tariff entry sought to include the parts also within its scope, it had been done by specific mention of parts in the entry, as for example in Tariff Items 29A, 30 and 31. Since Item 49 does not include parts and there is no other appropriate tariff entry for parts of rolling bearings, we hold that needle roller cages ar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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