1983(01)LCX0010

IN THE CEGAT ‘SPECIAL BENCH D’, NEW DELHI

PRESENT : Shri S. Venkatesan, Sr. Vice-President, Smt. S. Duggal, Member (J), and Shri K..L. Rekhi, Member (T)

INDENTO PRIVATE LTD., BOMBAY

Versus

COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, BOMBAY

Order No. D-5/83, dated 5-1-1983

Advocated By : Shri A.P. Bhandarkar, for the Appellants.

Shri M. Chatterjee D.R., for the Respondents.

[Order]. - In this case, the Appellate Collector allowed the claim of the appellants in respect of basic customs duty on the goods imported, namely, protector screen filter glasses of welders, unmounted, on the ground that these were optical glasses, polished and optically worked and, therefore, classifiable under heading 90.01 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. However, he did not consider the appellants claim in respect of countervailing duty which the appellants are now pressing for, citing Notification No. 362/76-Cus., which exempted goods falling, inter alia, under Heading 90 from the levy of countervailing duty.

2.  The case was argued before us on 5-1-1983. Shri Chatterjee, on behalf of the Department countered the appellants claim on the ground that Notification No. 362/76-Cus., excluded glass lenses and prisms and since the goods imported were optical glasses, polished and optically worked, they were nothing but glass lenses and prisms. He, however, conceded that there was another Notification No. 364/76-Cus., which gave full exemption from countervailing duty to articles falling under Item 68 of the Central Excise Tariff and since after the Appellate Collector’s decision the goods fell under Heading 90.01 CTA and the corresponding Central Excise classification was Item 68. The Department would have no objection if the appellants claim for countervailing duty was allowed under Notification No. 364/76-Cus. Shri Bhandarkar, stated that the appellants had no objection to this position.

3.  We have carefully considered the matter. Since the Appellate Collector has held that the goods were optical glasses, polished and optically worked, they would fall under Item 68 of the Central Excise Tariff and would be entitled to full exemption from countervailing duty under Notification No. 364/76-Cus., which was in force at the material time when the goods were imported. We allow the appeal with consequential relief accordingly.

Equivalent 1983 (12) ELT 389 (C.E.G.A.T.)