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2004 (4) TMI 99

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..... ther the concessional rate of customs duty of 5% would be applicable to the Panel AG Assembly in terms of Sl. No. 110 of Notification No. 25/99-Cus., dated 28-2-99, as amended." 2.The applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, Japan. It proposes to manufacture coloured picture tubes, cathode ray tubes, (for short CRT) based on patented Trinitron Technology. It is stated that the components of CRT are as follows :- (a) Funnel, which is a glass item having the shape of the color picture tube; (b) Panel, which is also a glass shell item which is assembled in front of the funnel; (c) FAG and Frame. It is a metal item with a special coating based on Trinitron Technology. The frame is made of metal; a .....

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..... er 70 under Heading 70.11 and part (c) is dutiable under Heading 85.40 but in the form of assembly, PAGA is liable to duty under Heading 8540.91 as it ceases to be a glass part and therefore the concessional rate of duty under Sl. No. 110 of the notification would apply. He relied upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in Dunlop India Ltd. v. Union of India and Others [1983 (13) E.L.T. 1566 (S.C.) = 1976 (2) SCC 241] in support of his contention that the form of goods in which it is imported is a relevant factor for purposes of classification. The learned Counsel has taken us through various notifications of the earlier years to impress upon us that there has been successive decrease in the rate of duty on the glass parts and ultimately in .....

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..... g entry in column (4) of the said Table, from so much of that portion of the duty of customs leviable thereon which is specified in the said First Schedule, as in excess of the amount calculated at the rate of, - (a) Nil in the case of the imported goods specified in List A; and (b) 5% ad valorem in the case the imported goods specified in List B; Provided that the importer follows the procedure set out in the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty for Manufacture of Excisable Goods) Rules, 1996. TABLE S. No. Chapter Description of imported goods Description of finished goods (1) (2) (3) (4) List A *    *   .....

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..... rted, are meant for use in the manufacture of Cathode Ray Tubes in India. The germane question, however, is whether PAGA would answer the description of "parts of Cathode Ray Tubes (other than glass parts)" in Sl. No. 110. It is a common ground that parts (a) and (b) are glass parts and part (c) is a metal part of CRT. Therefore, parts (a) and (b), the glass parts of CRT, are not covered by Sl. No. 110 of the notification and are dutiable under Chapter 70 whereas part (c) a metal part of CRT, is dutiable under Heading 8540. The question will then boil down to : What would be the position of PAGA - combination of parts (b) and (c) - a glass part with a metal part - in regard to applicability of concessional rate of duty under the Sl. No. 110 .....

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..... like a glass envelope for ordinary 100 watts lamp with aluminum connection fitted which would be classified as a bulb under Heading 85.39 so on the same analogy the glass panel when integrated with AG Assembly and coated with RGB phosphor coating ceases to be a glass envelope simpliciter and becomes a part of CRT classifiable under 8540.91. The argument proceeds that once the classification of imported PAGA is under Chapter 85, the benefit of notification would automatically follow and that the expression "other than glass parts" used in Sl. No. 110 is to distinguish it from the glass envelopes, which are also parts of CRT falling under Chapter 70 and is by way of abundant caution though not required strictly. 8.The validity of the conte .....

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..... her parts of CRT (other than glass parts) and not with the combination of two or more parts. While extending the benefit of concessional rate of duty to non-glass parts, it excludes the glass parts. Though it may be true that the glass parts and non-glass parts when combined would equally form a part of CRT it cannot certainly be said to be a part of CRT other than a glass part. On plain reading of Sl. No. 110, it is not possible to construe it as including combination of two or more parts of CRT. In our view, no parallel can be drawn with part (d) electron gun, for electron gun by itself is a component of CRT and is a separate identifiable commercial goods as a part of CRT and clearly it falls under Heading 8540.91. There can be no dispute .....

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