The Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that no customs duty is applicable on the import of CMCPCB 6349 unmounted printed circuit board used for manufacturing LED lamps by Havells India.
The bench of Rachna Gupta (Judicial Member) and Hemambika R. Priya (Technical Member) has observed that ‘MCPCB 6349 Prideplus New 20W 5.8X1127 MM (CELZLX0760) Unmounted printed Circuit Board for the manufacturing of LED Lamps’ is classifiable under CTH 85340000.
The respondent, Havells India Ltd. had imported ‘MCPCB 6349 Prideplus New 20W 5.8X1127 MM (CELZLX0760) Unmounted printed Circuit Board for the manufacturing of LED Lamps’ vide Bill of Entry No. 3068449 dated 02.05.2019 by classifying the said goods under CTH 85340000. The declared assessable value of the goods was Rs. 31,09,067/-.
Acting upon specific intelligence that the appellant mis-declared the goods imported under Bill of Entry un-mounted Printed Circuit Board for the manufacturing of LED lamps), the officers of Customs Preventive, New Delhi examined the goods on 13.05.2019 under Panchnama. On Examination, the goods covered under Bill of Entry No. 3068449 dated 02.05.2019 appeared to be mis-classified.
Therefore, the goods covered under Bill of Entry were seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 on reasonable belief that the same appeared to be liable for confiscation under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Representative samples were also drawn for further enquiry in the matter.
During investigation, it was observed that the goods mentioned in the Bill of Entry i.e. “MCPCB 6349 Pride plus New 20W 5.8X1127MM (CELZLX0760) (un-mounted Printed Circuit Board) for the manufacturing of LED lamps” appeared to be more appropriately classifiable under CTH 94054090 of Customs Tariff Act, whereas, the importer classified these items under CTH 85340000 of Schedule 1 of Customs Tariff Act, 1975, on NIL rate of Basic Customs Duty vide Customs Notification No. 24/2005 dated 01.03.2005.
Accordingly, a show cause notice was issued to the respondent proposing demand of differential duty of Rs. 6,83,995/- under Section 28(4) along with interest under Section 28AA in addition to proposing confiscation of goods under Section 111(m) and penalty under Section 112(a)(ii) & 114A of the Customs Act, 1962.
The tribunal dismissed the appeal of the department.
Case Details
Case Title: Principal Commissioner, Customs -New Delhi(Prev) Versus Havells India Ltd
Case No.: Customs Appeal No. 51766 Of 2022
Date: 02.01.2025
Counsel For Appellant: Rajesh Singh
Counsel For Respondent: None
