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TMI Blog2021 (8) TMI 186X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce Tax on 26.12.2017. The application was admitted on 25.05.2018 and was heard on 29.06.2018. However, no ruling has been given. Thereafter, on appointment of the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings, Mumbai under the provisions of section 28EA of the Customs Act, 1962; the secretariat of the erstwhile AAR transferred the said application to the CAAR, Mumbai. 2. On scrutiny by the Secretary to the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings, Mumbai, it appeared that the application has lapsed since no ruling was given within 3 months as mandated under sub-section 6 of section 28-1 of the Act. However, on constructive interpretation of law and purely as a trade facilitation measure, the applicant was given an opportunity to re-submit the application if they continued to be desirous of obtaining an advance ruling as sought originally. Accordingly, the application has been submitted on 01.04.2021. 3. In their original application, the applicant indicated that they wish to import Home Pods through the airports/air cargo complexes of New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata. In their fresh application dated 01.04.2021 also, the applicant has expressed the same intention. The appl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... quoted the relevant portions of the law as it pertained to advance rulings in customs when their application was filed for the first time in December, 2017 as well as the law as it stands now. The applicant has reiterated that they qualify as an applicant as per the provisions of law and also have a right to receive an advance ruling. The main thrust of the arguments of the applicant is that their application filed afresh on 01.04.2021 cannot be treated as a fresh application and that their original date of filing on 26.12.2017 would stand and since the original application has simply been transferred to the present authority, the present proceedings would be deemed to be a continuation of the past proceedings. The applicant also argues that since they had filed an application for advance ruling and only thereafter, they had resorted to import, their right to receive an advance ruling wouldn't be adversely affected. The decision of Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of M/s. Hyosung Corporation reported at 2016 (284) CTR 121 is cited in support of this contention. During the oral arguments, the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 28F of the Act was emphasized again. The appl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ARs under sub-sections (2) and (3) of the section 28F of the Act. In this case the applicant filed an application for advance rulings on 26.12.2017 under the proviso to the sub-section (1) of section 28EA of the Act. This application has, however, not been disposed of by the erstwhile authority. Thereafter, on the appointment of CAAR, Mumbai and notification of the relevant regulations w.e.f. 04.01.2021, this application has been transferred to CAAR, Mumbai under the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 28F. The said provision states that, 'On and from the date of appointment of the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings, every application and proceeding pending before the erstwhile Authority for Advance Rulings shall stand transferred to the Authority from the stage at which such application or proceeding stood as on the date of such appointment.' In the advance ruling no. CAAR/Mum/ARC/4/2021, dated 27.04.2021, I have taken a view that applications where advance rulings were not given by the erstwhile AAR would be considered as lapsed and an application which had already lapsed at the end of the erstwhile AAR, would remain so at the time of transfer to CAAR. On careful reconsid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... file an appeal against an advance ruling. The import of reading all the legal provisions cited above together leads one to the inescapable conclusion that the scheme of advance rulings in customs, as contained in the Chapter VB of the Act, envisages that an applicant would indicate only one port/point of entry for their proposed activity. The use of definite article 'the' in all these legal provisions also point to the intention of the legislature to define a specific individual and not indulge in a generic description where a singular can be read as plural and vice versa. The statutory mandate to give a ruling within 3 months of filing an application would also be difficult to comply with if applicants cite multiple ports/points of import/export as corresponding with multiple Principal Commissioners/Commissioners and conveying their comments to the applicant and take in to account the rebuttals/rejoinders of the applicant would be time consuming and would make it difficult to render advance rulings within the time prescribed in the statute. In my view, applicants should avoid such tactics which would only result in delay. However, in the present proceedings, considering the fact ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to search the internet for the information, and once found, it regenerates the information back to the user in the form of speech from the device's speaker. The device also has the ability to control a wide range of accessories via a hardware certification platform and database system that allows to integrate, configure, and communicate between a wide variety of home products like locks, lights, security equipment, and other home automation products, from air conditioners to garage doors to security cameras all connected to the same wireless network. Thus, the device enables controlling of various home applications via Siri through voice commands by adding an accessory to the Home app installed on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Mac Computer, etc. The key functionality of the device is to provide an interactive interface by receiving, converting and regenerating voice data that is used to operate and control smart devices set up inside one's house. The device can recognise the user's voice commands and help in carrying out functions like lowering the thermostat of the air conditioner, lowering one's garage door, operate live camera streaming, turn on/off lights at home, etc. In nu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arrier system (DLC) 8517.62.60 - Synchronous digital hierarchy system (SDH) 8517.62.70 - Multiplexers, statistical multiplexers 8517.62.90 - Others 11. Considering the attributes of the device in question, which is capable of receiving voice commands, covert such voice commands into text to perform multiple tasks, e.g., stream music from the internet or another Apple device, retrieve information available in the net like weather, traffic, news, sports updates etc., regenerate such information back to the user in the form of music/speech, and also act as a home automation device to control reconditioners, locks, lights etc., it is clear that the product in question has multiple facets, and therefore, its classification would depend upon identifying the essential character of the device. The product consists of an Apple designed A8 chip, a six-microphone array, a seven-tweeter array, and a high excursion woofer enclosed in a seamless mesh fabric. The device works wirelessly through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and as already noted it can play music directly from the internet or from another Apple device through AirPlay 2. Through its digital assistant, Siri, a user can give voice comman ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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