In Re Le Mei Plastic Manufacturing Private Limited (CAAR Delhi)
The Customs Authority for Advance Ruling (CAAR), Delhi examined whether Advance Ruling No. CAAR/Del/Le Mei/44/2025 dated 06.08.2025 had been obtained by fraud or misrepresentation of material facts under Section 28K of the Customs Act, 1962. The original advance ruling had been sought under Section 28H of the Customs Act, 1962 on the classification of imported goods, namely aluminium plates, magnesium alloy sheets, heat dissipating films, silicon pads, conductive foams, antenna modules, double-sided tapes and dust-proof papers stated to be used in the manufacture of Front Cover, Back Cover and Middle Cover of mobile phones. The applicant had represented these imported goods as essential inputs or components required for manufacturing the intermediate goods.
Subsequently, the Principal Commissioner of Customs, ACC (Import), New Delhi informed the Authority that an investigation conducted by the Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB) revealed that the advance ruling had been obtained through misrepresentation of material facts. The representations relied upon statements recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 from the applicant’s Senior Manager (Operations) and the DGM Logistics of Vivo Mobile India Pvt. Ltd., together with documentary evidence. An additional representation enclosed a Chartered Engineer’s Certificate dated 14.05.2026, which opined that the Front Cover, Back Cover, Middle Cover and Support Bracket were independently identifiable structural parts of mobile phones and that the attached components retained their own identity and specialised functions.
