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2015 (9) TMI 714 - AT - CustomsImport of designs and drawings - import in printed form as well as in CD - Benefit of exemption under serial number 271 of notification number 12/2012-CUS - Held that:- Appellants had in fact ordered for designs and drawings in hardcopy. Purchase orders placed clearly indicate for the supply of designs and drawings in hardcopy. When the goods were examined it was noticed that in addition to hardcopy, CD was found in the package. The said CD was opened on a laptop before the Customs authorities and it contained the designs and drawing in machine readable format - data on the CD imported is capable of manipulation as was demonstrated before us. We find that the design and drawings of the vessel on the CD can be manipulated in the computer to change the length and the breadth, repositioning of the machineries like engine, cabin, tank and a conclusion can be reached as to the correct design that needs to be presented to the clients and also for arriving at the conclusion as to how the ship or vessel will appear to a purchaser. The facts and circumstances of that case clearly indicate that what was brought in by the appellant therein was "CD ROM", is an indicator that the CD containing the designs and drawings of engineering goods was on a "read only memory"; in computer language ROM, that is to say the information on the CD Can only be read and is non-manipulatable. The judgment and the ratio of the Apex Court in the case of LML Ltd. [2010 (9) TMI 12 - Supreme Court of India] was considering the peculiar facts of that case; while in the case in hand before us, it is undisputed that the information contained on the CD is manipulatable and interactive with the user. Designs and drawings contained in the CD were correctly classifiable under Heading 85238020 and attracts 'nil' rate of duty as per Customs Tariff. The requirements of supplementary note to Chapter 8523 are therefore satisfied. Since designs and drawings in paper form as well as in the CD form attract nil rate of duty, the finding of the Commissioner about the applicability of section 19 of the Customs Act, 1962 becomes irrelevant since the rate of duty applicable to both goods even assuming them to be constituting a set, is 'nil' in view of the classification determined by us. The question whether a separate value could be attributed to the CD also becomes irrelevant in view of the classification under Heading 85238020 of the Tariff. - mpugned order is unsustainable and is liable to be set aside - Decided in favour of assessee.
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