Commissioner Customs Vs Siria Impex Private Limited (CESTAT Delhi)
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Delhi disposed of two departmental appeals challenging the Order-in-Appeal dated 25.07.2022 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), who had earlier allowed the appeals of the importer and set aside the orders-in-original confirming differential customs duty and penalties.
The dispute related to the classification of imported “Molybdenum Mirror and Shields.” The importer had declared the goods under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 81029590, attracting Basic Customs Duty (BCD) at 5%. During audit, the Department took the view that the goods were correctly classifiable under CTH 81029900, attracting BCD at 10%, resulting in alleged short levy of customs duty. Show cause notices were issued proposing recovery of differential duty, interest, penalties, and confiscation of goods.
The Department argued that CTH 81029590 covered only flat surfaced products such as plates, sheets, strips, and foils of solid rectangular cross-section. Since the imported goods were curved and presented as finished articles like mirrors or shields, they ceased to be flat sheets and became “articles of molybdenum” classifiable under CTH 81029900. The Department also pointed out that the importer had earlier classified identical goods under CTH 81029900, showing awareness of the correct classification. It further argued that the Commissioner (Appeals) wrongly treated “flat surfaced products” differently from “flat products.”
