In re Dynamatic Manufacturing Limited (CAAR Mumbai)
Dynamatic Manufacturing Limited filed an application before the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings (CAAR), Mumbai, seeking classification of 176 “parts of aircraft and helicopters” proposed to be exported. The applicant manufactures precision machined components, sheet metal pressed parts, structural assemblies, and detail (child) parts used in aircraft and helicopters. These parts are custom-designed based on drawings and specifications provided by aircraft manufacturers, including Dassault Aviation (France), Airbus GmbH (Germany), Bell Textron Inc (USA), Boeing Company, and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. The parts are manufactured using aerospace-grade aluminium, titanium, stainless steel, rubber, and foam, and involve specialized processes such as CNC machining, welding, heat treatment, painting, and chemical processing. The applicant holds certifications including AS9100:2016 and NADCAP approvals.
The applicant contended that the subject goods are exclusively designed for aircraft applications, have no general use, and are suitable solely or principally for use in aircraft classifiable under CTH 8802. A Chartered Engineer certified that the parts are primary aircraft structural components manufactured exclusively for aircraft use and not suitable for any generic or commercial applications.
The issue before CAAR was classification under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Heading 8807 covers parts of goods of headings 8801, 8802, or 8806. As aircraft fall under CTH 8802, parts suitable solely or principally for such aircraft may fall under CTH 8807, subject to conditions in Section XVII Notes. The Authority examined whether the goods satisfied the two key conditions under the HSN Explanatory Notes: (i) suitability solely or principally for aircraft; and (ii) non-exclusion under Section XVII Notes, including not being “parts of general use.”
