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2016 (11) TMI 847 - CESTAT MUMBAIEligibility for concessional rate of additional duty of customs in accordance with N/N. 6/2006-CE dated 1st March 2006 and N/N. 12/2012-CE dated 17th March 2012 - classification of imported goods - ‘external hard disks’ classified under heading 84717030 or 84717040 of the Schedule of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985? - Held that: - Under Customs Act, 1962 each import is assessed on its own merits and upon the contents of the declaration in the bill of entry. An assessee is an assessee merely for the limited period that the goods are with the custodian pending clearance for home consumption. No importer can claim to be a permanent assessee for all the goods imported by them. Most often, declarations of the assesses are accepted and, in the last decade or so, allowed clearance with a cursory examination except in the few cases where it is so warranted otherwise. Therefore, there is neither a bar on querying the declared classification at any time nor can it be a valid defence that acceptance of declaration in a past import is an acknowledgement of declaration having been true and correct. It is not uncommon for importers to align description of imported goods, not with the tariff entries, but with descriptions in exemption notification and continuing with that description until the misdeclaration is unearthed. The differential duty is adequate motive for suppression of facts relevant to assessment. The notice issued to appellant alleges that, in the bills of entry, the description did not bring on record that these drives were portable; no justifiable counter to this allegation has been furnished before the adjudicating authority. The plea of limitation raised before us is, therefore, not tenable. The individuals are equally responsible for the evasion of duty. The imports of the appellants are liable to be classified under 84717030 and not 84717020 of the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 - appeal rejected - decided against appellant.
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