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2016 (3) TMI 252

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..... ecided in favour of appellant with consequential relief - C/40731/2013 - Final Order No. 41842 / 2015 - Dated:- 29-12-2015 - SHRI R. PERIASAMI, TECHNICAL MEMBER AND SHRI P. K. CHOUDHARY, JUDICIAL MEMBER For the Petitioner : Shri R. Srinivasan For the Respondent : Ms. Indira Sisupal, AC(AR) ORDER PER P. K. CHOUDHARY The Appellant company is engaged in the manufacture of computer monitor and registered with the Central Excise Department for manufacturing computer monitor. The Appellant imports LCD (Liquid Crystal Devices) Panels. This appeal is filed against the Order in Appeal No.93/2013 dt.29.1.13 passed by the Ld. Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Chennai upholding the Order in Original No.34/2010 dt.20.1.2010 passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex. 2. The brief facts of the case are that the Appellant company imported consignments of LCD Panels during November 2009. The goods were described as LCD PANEL (BN07-00703A) FOR COMPUTER MONITOR and classified under Tariff item 90138010 of the Customs Tariff Act. The appellant also claimed the benefit of BCD exemption under Sl.no.29 of Notification no.24/2005-Cus. However, the .....

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..... to be covered under Tariff Item 9013 80 10 are all kinds of liquid crystal devices and the use of the term Devices signifies that a broader area of goods are sought to be covered under Tariff Item 9013 80 10 and consequently LCD will include other items apart from LCD panels. Reference was also made to the various dictionary meanings of the term Devices. It was further contended that a specific heading is to be preferred over a residuary heading. Various other contentions raised in the Grounds of Appeal were also reiterated. He relied on the Tribunal Delhi Bench recent decision in their own case in Tribunals Final Order No. C/A/52760 52780/2015 dated 10.06.2015, where the Tribunal on identical issue of classification of CED allowed their appeal. He relied following citations:- 1. Secure Meters Ltd. Vs. CCE 2015-TIOL-100-SC-CUS 2. Orient Paper Mills Vs. CCE 1991 (51) ELT 625 (Tri.) 3. Videocon Industries Vs. CCE 2009-TIOL-653-CESTAT-MUM 8. Ms. Indira Sisupal, A.C., the Learned Authorized Representative, contended that the impugned order merits to be upheld and the appeal of the assessee/appellant deserves to be dismissed. It was further contended that the appellant .....

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..... or a particular purpose (for LCD TV) and therefore they are clearly covered under the scope of the expression liquid crystal device (LCD). Indeed even the components of the impugned goods like liquid crystal panel, driver, backlight unit, inverter etc. are nothing but devices in their own right and therefore a combination thereof would also be a device and as the impugned goods have liquid crystal panel as one of the components, the impugned goods are clearly liquid crystal devices (LCDs). That the impugned goods (which Revenue calls LCD modules) are LC devices is not seriously contested by Revenue also and therefore any elaboration on this point is shunned. The only issue which now remains to be decided is whether these LCDs are covered CTH 9013 or 8529. The relevant parts of CTH 9013, 8528 and 8529 are reproduced below for convenience: Chapter Heading Photographic, medical, measuring etc. instruments 9013 Liquid Crystal devices not constituting articles provided for more specifically in other headings; lasers, other than laser diode; other optical appliances and instrumen .....

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..... nergy meters (having LCDs) which, though Liquid Crystal Devices, are more specifically covered under 85.28 and 90.28 respectively and therefore would get out of the scope of CTH 9013. Similarly even a watch can be a Liquid Crystal Device but is classified under CTH 9012 being more specifically covered there. Thus there are indeed a number of Liquid Crystal Devices which are provided for more specifically in other headings and are consequently not covered under CTH 9013. However, as stated earlier, CTH 90.13 covers LCDs by name and CTH 9013 80 10 is exclusively carved for LCDs. In contrast, the description of CTH 85.29, parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of Heading 8525 to 8528 is general in nature. Thus, while LCDs are specifically mentioned in CTH 9013 which has a sub-heading exclusively for LCDs only, their coverage under CTH 85.29 can be only on the ground that the general description of CTH 8529 would cover LCDs as parts of LCD TV. It is thus obvious that between CTH 9013 and CTH 8529, the impugned LCDs are far more specifically provided for in CTH 9013 than under in CTH 85.29. 6. The reference to Section Note 2(b) of Section XVI of Customs T .....

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..... revert to the tariff entries. It cannot be disputed that LCDs are specifically provided in Tariff Item 9013. The only condition is that such LCDs should not constitute articles provided more specifically in other headings. In the present case, it is also not in dispute that LCDs imported by the appellant did not constitute any such article which is more specifically provided in other headings. On the contrary, the Revenue wants to include in the same Chapter, i.e., Chapter 90, though under Entry 9028.90.10 as parts and accessories. The only reason for including the goods under Chapter Heading 9028 is that the LCDs were to be used in the electricity supply meters. However, Entry 9028 does not pertain to LCDs but gas, liquid, etc., and includes electricity supply meters as well. Merely because these LCDs are to be used as parts in the said electricity supply meters, can it be said that they are to be included in Entry 9028? Here, Note 2 of this Chapter Notes becomes important since LCDs are used in the electricity supply meters only as parts thereof. Note 2(a) stipulates that parts and accessories which are goods included in the heading of the said Chapter, i.e., Chapter .....

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..... Thus parts and accessories which are goods included in any of the heading of this Chapter (i.e. Chapter 90) or Chapter 84, 85 or 91 (other than Heading 8487, 8548 or 9033) are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings. Chapter Note 2(a) also referred to Chapters 84, 85 and 91 apart from Chapter 90. Thus as per this Chapter Note [2(a)], the impugned LCDs being included in CTH 9013 will get classified there and the ratio of the Supreme Courts judgment in the case of Secure Meters (supra) is not distinguishable on the basis of that Chapter Note; indeed, quite to the contrary, it applies mutatis mutandis to the present case. By holding that LCDs suitable for use solely or principally with energy meters are more specifically covered under CTH 9013, the Supreme Court has, in effect, declared that CTH 9013 covers LCDs (for energy meters) more specifically than CTH 9028 90 10 which covers parts and accessories of energy meters. It clearly follows from the said Supreme Court judgment that the description parts suitable for use solely or principally with LCD TV does not cover LCDs for LCD TVs as specifically as the description of CTH 9013 which covers LCDs by name and .....

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