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TMI Blog2024 (9) TMI 253X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 51390/22, 51391/22, 51392/22, 51393/22, 51394/22, 51395/22, 51396/22, 51397/22, 51398/22, 51399/22, 51400/22, 51401/22, 51402/22, 51403/22, 51404/22, 51405/22, 51406/22, 51407/22, 51408/22, 51409/22, 51410/22, 51411/22, 51412/22, 51413/22, 51414/22, 51415/22, 51416/22, 51417/22, 51418/22, 51419/22, 51420/22, 51421/22, 51423/22, 51424/22 MR. DILIP GUPTA, PRESIDENT AND MR. P.V. SUBBA RAO, MEMBER (TECHNICAL) Shri B.L. Narasimhan, Ms. Jyoti Pal, Ms. Anshita Khandelwal, Advocates and Shri Ashwin Sundaram, Chartered Accountant for the appellant Shri S.K. Rahman, Authorized Representative for the Department ORDER These 127 appeals have been filed by M/s Mitsubishi Electric Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. [the appellant] to assail the order-in-appeal [the impugned order] dated 03.02.2022 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), New Customs House, New Delhi whereby he rejected the appeals filed by the appellant assailing the classification of the goods imported under 127 bills of entry from February 2018 to May 2021. 2. We have heard Shri B.L. Narasimhan, learned counsel for the appellant and Shri S.K. Rahman, learned authorized representative for the revenue and perused the reco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... omalies arise within the input/out framework, it alerts the user so that necessary corrective steps can be taken. Submissions of the appellant 8. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted as follows: (i) the burden of proof of establishing a classification rests on the department which has not been discharged by it. The department has not given specific reasoning as to why the goods are not covered under Customs Tariff Heading [CTH] 9032/8537 claimed by the appellant. Reliance is placed on the following decisions : (a) HPL Chemicals vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Chandigarh [2006 (197) E.L.T. 324 (S.C.)] ; (b) Parle Agro (P) Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Trivandrum [2017 (352) E.L.T. 153] (c) Indian Tool Manufacturer Ltd. vs. Collector of Central Excise, Pune [1983 (13) E.L.T. 1170 (CEGAT)] (d) Supreme Enterprises vs. Commissioner (Export), Nhava Sheva [2015 (316) E.L.T. 274 (Tri. - Mumbai)] (ii) The EPS - ECU and sub-assembly are classifiable under CTH 9032 and other parts are classifiable under CTI 9032 90 09 because CTH 9032 covers "automatic regulating and controlling apparatus" which is the function of EPS - ECU. Chapter No. 7 to Chapt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rrect amount of assistance is provided. (viii) The sub-assembly of EPS-ECU is an incomplete EPS-ECU and hence it should also be classified as EPS-ECU. (ix) The remaining parts of the EPS-ECU deserve to be classified under CTI 9032 90 00 as there is no specific heading for them. (x) Without prejudice to this assertion of classification, EPS-ECU and sub-assembly could be classified under CTI 8537 10 00. (xi) Of the parts of EPS-ECU, the cover, housing, housing assembly or frame assembly, spacer and circuit assembly deserve to be classified under CTI 8538 90 00 and Heat sink under CTI 8538 10 90. (xii) As a third alternative, EPS-ECU and sub-assembly may be classified under CTI 8543 70 99 and the parts of EPS-ECU may be classified under CTI 8543 90 00. (xiii) It is incorrect to classify EPS-ECU under CTH 8708, which is a residuary entry when they can be classified under more specific entries. (xiv) Specific entry prevails over the general entry. Submissions on behalf of the Revenue 9. Shri S K Rahman, learned authorised representative for the Revenue submitted as follows: i) The goods were described in the bills of entry and the import documents as "EPS-ECU ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he records. 11. The issue to be decided in these appeals is the classification of EPS-ECU, sub-assembly of EPS-ECU and parts of EPS-ECU. 12. There is no dispute regarding the nature and function of the EPS-ECU. It is used in cars with power steering to dynamically determine- based on the speed and torque of the car- how much assistance should be provided to the driver in steering and accordingly regulate the voltage supplied to the motor from the 12-volt battery. The speed sensors and the torque sensors measure the speed and torque and send this information to the EPS-ECU. Processing this information, the EPS-ECU determines how much assistance should be provided to the driver in turning and accordingly regulates how much voltage from the battery is supplied to the motor which runs accordingly providing the appropriate amount of assistance to the driver in steering. If there is no EPS-ECU between the motor and the battery, the full 12-volts will be supplied to the motor and it will run at its full speed providing too much power to the driver in steering. 13. At the heart of the EPS-ECU is the circuit assembly which is a printed circuit board populated with capacitors, resistor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y under CTI 8537 10 00 and its parts under CTI 8538 90 00 (cover, housing, housing assembly, spacer and circuit assembly) and CTI 8538 10 90. Its alternative third claim is for classification of EPS-ECU and its sub-assembly under CTI 8543 70 99 and its parts under CTI 8543 90 00. 17. In support of its second claim of classification under CTH 8537, the appellant relied on US Customs ruling N013361 dated 16 July 2007 and US Customs ruling H088421 dated 10 May 2012. We have gone through these rulings which are similar to the advance rulings given by Authority for Advance Rulings under the Customs Act in India. These rulings are decisions by the US Customs authorities on how the goods should be classified under the US Customs laws. These decisions of the US authorities about the classification under US customs Act do not stand on a better footing than the decisions by the Indian customs authorities under the Customs Act, 1962, let alone the decision by the Commissioner (Appeals) in the impugned order. 18. We now proceed to decide the classification of the goods. Classification of EPS-ECU and its sub-assembly 19. It is undisputed that the sub-assembly is the same as EPS-ECU ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 9032 10 10 --- For refrigerating and air-conditioning appliances and machinery 9032 10 90 --- Other 9032 20 - Manostats: 9032 20 10 --- For refrigerating and air-conditioning appliances and machinery 9032 20 90 --- Other - Other instruments and apparatus: 9032 81 00 -- Hydraulic or pneumatic 9032 89 -- Other : 9032 89 10 --- Electronic automatic regulators 9032 89 90 --- Other 9032 90 00 - Parts and accessories 8537 Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517 8537 10 00 - For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V 8537 20 00 - For a voltage exceeding 1,000 V 8543 Electrical machines and apparatus having individual functions, not specified or including elsewhere in this chapter 8543 10 - Particle accelerators: 8543 10 10 --- Ion implanters for doping semi-conductor material 8543 10 20 --- Vane graff, cock-croft, Walton ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... part of automobiles- more specifically a part of its power steering system. There is no other use of this good and its principal and also only use is as a part of the automobile. Therefore, according to the Revenue, EPS-ECU deserves to be classified under CTH 8708 and within that under CTI 8708 94 00 -- Steering wheels, steering columns and steering boxes; parts thereof. 22. Further, according to the Revenue, the term 'parts and accessories' can fall under Section XVII (of which Chapter 87 is a part) subject to three conditions laid down in the HSN Explanatory note to Section XVII. These are: a) They are not excluded by section note 2 to this section; b) They must be suitable for use solely or principally with the articles of the chapters 86 to 88; and c) They must not be more specifically included elsewhere in the nomenclature. 23. There is no dispute that the EPS-ECU is meant solely for use in automobiles with power steering and therefore, the second of the above conditions is met. Certain goods are specifically excluded from the expression 'parts and accessories' by virtue of Section Note 2 to this Section. It reads as follows: "2. The expressions "parts" and "p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d its own self-assessment by filing appeals before the Commissioner (Appeals) which were dismissed. Therefore, it is the appellant which is seeking to change the classification and the burden is on it to provide evidence. Learned counsel for the appellant does not dispute the fact that it had self-assessed the Bills of Entry classifying the goods under CTI 8708 94 00 but asserts that it had so classified the goods on the insistence of the department so as to get the goods cleared. We do not find any force in this argument. Any importer can self-assess goods by filing the Bill of Entry. Until the Bill of Entry is filed, the departmental officer cannot assess or take any action on it with respect to assessment. If the proper officer does not agree with the self-assessment by the importer, he can re-assess the duty and provide a speaking order. We do not see how the departmental officers could have insisted that the goods should be classified in a particular heading in the Bill of Entry even before it was filed. Even if there was any informal discussion with the proper officer and he had suggested that the goods should be classified under any particular CTI, the appellant could not ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y which is regulated by the EPS-ECU and it is dependent on the electrical value, i.e., the current so as to bring it at a desired value and it also serves to dampen the oscillations within the system such as when the vehicle encounters a stone or other obstacle. According to the learned counsel, EPS-ECU also constantly or periodically measures the actual value of torque. 28. According to the learned authorised representative, EPS-ECU is not an instrument or apparatus by itself. It does not measure the speed or torque but it receives the information about speed and torque from the speed sensors and torque sensors. It processes this information and determines how much assistance should be provided in steering and the assistance is actually provided by the motor using the energy from the battery and based on the instructions received from EPS-ECU. 29. We find from the details of the EPS-ECU provided by the learned counsel, that it acts as the brain and receives inputs from the speed sensor and torque sensor dynamically and processes this information to determine how much assistance should be provided to the driver in steering in a particular situation. Thereafter, based on this in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rit classification under CTI 8537 10 00. 34. The second alternative claim of the appellant is for the EPS-ECU to be classified under CTI 8543 70 99 as "Electrical machines and apparatus having individual functions, not specified or including elsewhere in this chapter- others". 35. We find that CTH 8543 covers various "electrical machines and apparatus having individual functions but not specified elsewhere in that Chapter". This includes, various specific electrical machines and apparatus such as particle accelerators, signal generators, machinery for electroplating, electrolysis, audio visual equipment. This CTH lists various types of machines and has a residual category 'Other' preceded by "---" (three dashes). Within this three dash 'Other" category are various equipment and machines each preceded by "----" (four dashes) such as radio frequency power amplifiers, beauty care equipment, audio visual stereo encoders, etc. and the last four dash category is CTI 8543 70 99 "----other". We do not find that EPS-ECU, which is essentially a part of an automobile specifically designed to be a part of power steering and which has no other function, can be classified in the general ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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