Commissioner of Customs Air Chennai-VII Commissionerate Vs Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd. (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court, in Commissioner of Customs Air Chennai-VII Commissionerate v. Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd., held that Wireless Access Points (WAPs) utilizing MIMO technology are exempt from customs duty under the 2005 Central Government Notification. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma clarified that the term “MIMO and LTE Products” in Serial No. 13(iv) of the notification is disjunctive. The Court rejected the Customs Department’s claim that the exemption applies only to products combining both MIMO technology and LTE standards. Instead, it ruled that the exemption extends to products operating on either MIMO technology or LTE standards individually.
The case arose when the Customs Department denied duty exemptions on imported WAPs, classifying them under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 8517, which qualifies for full customs duty exemption. The Department argued that the exclusion entry in the notification targeted all products operating on MIMO or LTE standards. However, the Additional Director General (Adjudication) and CESTAT favored the assessee, interpreting the clause to exclude only products using both technologies together.
The High Court upheld this interpretation, emphasizing that the language and structure of the notification clearly indicated that “MIMO and LTE Products” referred exclusively to devices employing both technologies. It noted the absence of the word “products” after “MIMO,” further supporting the view that the exclusion did not apply to MIMO-based WAPs. Consequently, the Court dismissed the Customs Department’s appeal, allowing the assessee to claim the exemption. This decision reinforces the need for precise statutory language in notifications to avoid misinterpretation.
