TGV SRAAC Limited Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Chennai)
Summary: The CESTAT Chennai disposed of two appeals filed by TGV SRAAC Ltd. (formerly, Sree Rayalaseema Alkalies and Allied Chemicals Ltd.), arising from two different orders in appeal dated 03.09.2015. Since both appeals involved the same issue, they were disposed of by a common order.
The appellant had filed Bills of Entry for clearance of “Lauric Acid”, classifying the goods under CTH 29157090 and claiming exemption under Notification No.12/2012-Cus., Sl.No.230A. After clearance, the Department issued Show Cause Notices under Section 28(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, proposing classification under CTH 29159090, denial of the exemption and recovery of differential duty with applicable interest. The Adjudicating Authority rejected the declared classification, ordered reclassification under CTH 29159090, denied the notification benefit and confirmed the differential duty demand with interest. The Commissioner of Customs (Appeals-II), Chennai rejected the appellant’s appeals and upheld the adjudication orders.
Before the Tribunal, the appellant submitted that Lauric Acid was used as raw material in the manufacture of toilet soaps and that its write-up concerning Lauric Acid had not been considered. It contended that the assessed Bills of Entry were appealable orders and that Revenue had not reviewed the assessments under Section 129D(2) of the Customs Act or filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority. The appellant also submitted that the reclassification was unsupported by any Customs Laboratory test, technical information or expert opinion.
