9911796707
TMI Blog1990 (10) TMI 74X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he auspices of different Export Promotion Councils - all fall into place and reveal no inconsistency with, and have no bearing on, the interpretation to be placed on the entry. Appeal dismissed & the stand of the Revenue has to be upheld X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be of two varieties - one an edible variety and the other a variety used for oil extraction purposes. While it is true that it is not a mutually exclusive classification in that perhaps all groundnut is capable of being eaten or of being processed to yield oil, the submission was that these two varieties of groundnut kernels or groundnut in shell were two different trade commodities. They had different characteristics; they were meant for different markets; their end-use was different; and their prices as well as mode of pricing were totally different. Referring to entries in this regard in the BTN (British Trade Nomenclature), the Indian Import Tariff as well as the Indian Import Export Policy, it was contended on behalf of the appellant that the entry should be confined only to groundnut kernel of the oil yielding variety and not the variety exported by the appellant, which could be more appropriately described as "processed food" rather than as groundnut kernel. 5. The appellant's contention, initially put forward before the Assistant Collector of Customs in an application for refund, was rejected by the Collector of Customs, on appeal by the Central Board of Exci ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rs to groundnuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken. The unit of quantity in which these goods are sold is tonne. This chapter deals with various types of oil seeds like soya beans, copra, linseed, rape or colza seeds, sunflower seeds, palm nuts and kernels and other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits. On the other hand edible nuts come under Heading 20.03, which reads thus : "Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included -Nuts, ground-nuts and other seeds, whether or not mixed together : -Ground-nuts Kg. -Other, including mixtures Kg. -Cashew nut, rosted Kg. -Nuts, prepared or preserved Kg -Other roasted nuts and seeds n.e.s. Kg. 2) A similar classification has also been made under the BTN. Chapter 12 deals with oil seeds and oleaginous fruit, miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit, industrial and medical plants, straw and fodder. Note 1 under this Chapter reads thus : 1. Heading No. 12.01 is to be taken to apply, inter alia, to groundnuts, soya beans, mustard seeds, oil poppy seeds, poppy se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ated 8-9-1976, the Government of India clarified that the item "blanched and roasted groundnut kernels", does not fall within the purview of Exports Control Order, 1968 and its export is allowed without any licensing formalities. (6) It has been pointed out that the Collector of Customs used to levy and recover an agricultural cess on the goods in question until the Government of India, by an order of 1976, held that the roasted and salted peanuts/groundnuts exported by the assessee were not liable to cess under the Agricultural Produce Cess Act, 1940. (7) It is pointed out that the packed roasted seeds exported by the appellants are more value added than raw groundnut kernel used for other purposes. The assessee's product is packed in vacuum containers and sold in terms of Kilograms, whereas other groundnuts are exported in bags or drums and sold in tonnes. It would not be correct to bring both of them under same classification for export purposes. 9. Relying on the above points of difference, Shri Diwan and Shri Dholakia, appearing on behalf of the appellant vehemently contend that the entry in the export tariff should be given a restrictive interpretation. Relia ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stoppel have not been put forward or considered by any of the assessing or appellate authorities. We, therefore, decline to permit Shri Dholakia to raise this question at this belated stage. His application for urging additional grounds in this regard is rejected. 11. On the other hand Ms. Nisha Bagchi, who argued the case on behalf of the Union of India very ably, submitted that the expressions `groundnut kernel' and `groundnut shell' used in the export entry were of the widest connotation. She referred to the dictionary meanings of the word `kernel' and submitted that there is no justification whatsoever for restricting its meaning on the basis of the capacity to germinate or to yield oil. She submitted that the reliance placed on behalf of the appellants on the BTN, ITC and Import Tariff classifications was totally misplaced. In fact, she contended, the very fact that the export tariff avoids all these classifications and uses a wide expression, which is capable of taking in both the edible as well as the oil seed varieties of the groundnuts, supports her contention that, so far as export tariff is concerned, the legislature intended no limitations whatsoever. In su ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s, we are of opinion that the contention of the Revenue should prevail. To our mind, there is no difficulty or ambiguity in the interpretation of the tariff entry. Groundnut is a well known commodity which is available both in shell and as kernel. In this context, `kernel' clearly means the grain, seed or the soft matter inside the shell, whatever the use or purpose to which it is put, eating or crushing for oil or sowing. The tariff entry covers all groundnut and there is no justification for confining it to the germinating or the oil seed variety alone. On behalf of the appellant, it is emphasised that the goods exported by the assessee and groundnut oil seeds are totally different commercial commodities. It is submitted that Diwan Chand Chaman Lal's case (1977-39 S.T.C. 75) says so and that the various classification lists produced prove this. Even the acceptance of this argument does not carry the appellant's case to the desired result. Assuming that two different commercial commodities fall under the same entry, there is no reason why the entry should be restricted to only one of them. It can and should cover both unless one can say that the commodity marketed by t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntention of the legislature must be given effect to. Shri Dholakia submitted that while the need to restrict imports necessitated a detailed enumeration and precise classification, the export duty is levied only on a short list of items. This may be so but this point of distinction is not enough to explain why, when an entry finds a place in the export tariff, it should not receive its normal interpretation but should receive one circumscribed by the entries in the import tariff or other classifications. 14. A point was also made by Shri Dholakia that, since the export duty is on the basis of tonnes and it is only the groundnut oil seed that is exported in units of tonnes, the entry should be confined to this commodity alone. This, we are afraid, is a very precarious basis for the interpretation of the body of the entry. In this context, we should also point out that no difficulty, anomaly or absurdity arising out of the computation of export duty in terms of tonnes on these goods was brought to the notice of the authorities at any stage. It may perhaps have helped if material had been placed before the authorities as to the nature and magnitude of the exports of the two classes o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
