Case Law Details
Commissioner of Customs Vs Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. (CESTAT Chennai)
Introduction: In a noteworthy case, Commissioner of Customs Vs Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd, the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in Chennai ruled in favor of the department by categorizing Samsung Galaxy Tabs as ‘Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Machines/Tablet Computers’ and not ‘Mobile Phones.’ Samsung had initially imported the product under the latter classification.
Analysis: This case was primarily centered around the classification of the Samsung Galaxy Tab (GT-P1000). Initially, Samsung, the respondent, had classified the imported tablets under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 85171290, corresponding to mobile phones. However, the department disagreed and reclassified the devices under CTH 84713090, referring to tablet computers. This reclassification was based on the descriptions on the packages, which read “Samsung Galaxy Tabs.”
Subsequently, Samsung contested the department’s classification, and the matter went up to the Commissioner (Appeals), who favored Samsung’s original classification. The department, however, appealed this decision before the CESTAT, which ultimately upheld the department’s classification.
Interestingly, the counsel for Samsung admitted during the hearing that following a 2013 circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Samsung had accepted the classification under CTH 8471 for future imports. Nonetheless, they insisted that the acceptance should not prejudice any contentions they may raise in pending matters.
Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.
