Used Rails Unfit For Reuse Classifiable As Ferrous Scrap, Not Railway Material For Customs Duty: CESTAT Chennai

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai has held that the classification of used railway rails depends on their condition and usability at the time of import, rather than simply on their original identity as railway rails.Where imported material was extensively rusted, cut, damaged and no longer fit for use as railway material, it was classifiable under Heading 7204 as ferrous waste and scrap, the tribunal ruled. Heading 7302 covers railway or tramway track...

CESTAT Mumbai Sets Aside ₹6.01 Crore Duty Demand Against Navayuga Engineering Over Helicopter Parts

On 22 September, the Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) set aside a Rs. 6.01 crore customs duty demand against Navayuga Engineering Company Limited, holding that helicopter parts used to transport personnel for infrastructure projects qualified as “capital goods” eligible for customs duty exemption. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member M.M. Parthiban also held that Navayuga and Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (KPCL)...

CESTAT Chennai Quashes Royalty Addition To CET Power Solutions' Import Value, Says Sale Nexus Needed

On 22 September, the Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) set aside the order adding royalty paid by CET Power Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. to its foreign collaborator to the assessable value of imported goods.A Bench comprising Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao and Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. held that royalty paid to a foreign collaborator cannot be added to the assessable value of imported goods merely because the imported components are used to...

Brake Hose Bracket Is Motor Vehicle Part, Cannot Be Classified As Metal Bracket For Customs Duty: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Delhi, has held that a bracket used in brake hose assemblies should be classified as a motor vehicle part based on its principal use for customs duty purposes.It also held that a connector specifically designed for automobile brake systems could not be classified as a generic plumbing fitting.A Bench comprising Officiating President Dr. Rachna Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya dismissed the appeal filed by Nichirin...

Mere Suspicion Over Freight Component Cannot Justify Rejection Of CIF Value: CESTAT Mumbai

On 10 September, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai, held that Customs cannot reject the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value declared by an importer merely on suspicion that freight and insurance were not included, unless there is evidence of any additional payment by the importer. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi allowed appeals filed by I.G. International Pvt. Ltd. and its Director Tarun Arora concerning...

CESTAT Mumbai Directs Release Of Johnson & Johnson's SAD Refunds Adjusted Against Dropped Demand

On 11 September, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai allowed appeals filed by Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd. and set aside the order passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Mumbai-II. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati observed: “This being admission of the Respondent-Department they should have released the amount adjusted against such drawback demand suo moto in favour of the Appellant but this has not been done.” Johnson...

Conditions Of All Exemption Notifications Must Be Strictly Complied With For Simultaneous Benefit: CESTAT Delhi

The Delhi bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that an importer claiming exemptions under multiple customs notifications must comply with the conditions prescribed under each notification.The tribunal observed that “strict interpretation to all notifications has simultaneously to be given”, and that the conditions of all the notifications have to be strictly complied with to avail their simultaneous benefit.A bench comprising Officiating President Dr....

Written Acceptance Of Enhanced Customs Value Does Not Bar Statutory Appeal: CESTAT Allahabad

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Allahabad, has reiterated that an importer's written acceptance of an enhanced assessable value does not, by itself, prevent the importer from challenging the reassessment in appeal.Relying on the Delhi High court's ruling in Niraj Silk Mills v. Commissioner of Customs (ICD), Patparganj, the tribunal held that accepting a reassessment and giving up a speaking order are not the same as giving up the statutory right to challenge...

Declared Goods Used To Conceal Undeclared Imports Can Be Confiscated: CESTAT Allahabad

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Allahabad, has ruled that declared goods can also be confiscated when they are used to conceal large quantities of undeclared goods.“It is not in dispute that the goods imported by the appellant was accompanied and used for concealment of large quantities of undeclared goods sought to be smuggled in to India by violating the provisions of Trade Markets and Intellectual Property Laws,” Technical Member Sanjiv Srivastava observed....

Aircraft Flown Commercially Without DGCA Approval Cannot Claim Customs Duty Exemption: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi has held that an aircraft imported duty-free for non-scheduled charter services cannot retain the exemption when it is commercially operated without the DGCA approval required under the exemption.A bench comprising Officiating President Dr. Rachna Gupta and Technicla Member P.V. Subba Rao was dealing with appeals filed by Mega Corporation Ltd., its Managing Director Kunal Lalani, and CEO Anil Kumar Soni.Mega Corporation...

CESTAT Chennai Upholds Toyota's Classification Of Nine Imported Sensors, Sets Aside Reclassification

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has upheld Toyota Kirloskar Motors Pvt. Ltd.'s classification of nine imported sensors as thermistors, gas-analysis apparatus, measuring or checking instruments, motor-vehicle parts and electrical apparatus.“The goods have to be classified in the condition in which they are imported, having regard to their objective characteristics and function,” the tribunal observed. It also held that where the Revenue seeks...

Authorised Courier Not Liable For Export Of Prohibited Goods Without Proof Of Knowledge: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 9 September held that an authorised courier cannot be penalised merely because prohibited goods are found concealed in an export consignment, unless the Revenue establishes the courier's knowledge, participation or a specific act or omission connecting it with the attempted improper export. A Division Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar allowed an appeal filed by...