Case Law Details
Ingram Micro India Pvt Ltd Vs Commissioner of Customs (Import) (CESTAT Mumbai)
CESTAT Mumbai held that tariff items within heading 8523 don’t offer scope for inclusion of ‘software’ of any type in the residual entry ‘others’ owing to the exhaustive enumeration in description in that heading.
Facts- M/s Ingram Micro India Ltd imported 500 nos. ‘compact disc (CD)’ of ‘WIN PRO 10 64 BIT ENG INTL 1 PK DSP OEI DVD’ valued at ₹ 51,04,510 and sought clearance at rate of duty leviable on tariff item 8523 8020 of First Schedule to Customs Tariff Act, 1975 which, in conjunction with notification no. 50/2017-Cus dated 30th June 2017 (at sl no 298), not being acceptable to the assessing officer and re-classified to tariff item 8523 8090 of First Schedule to Customs Tariff Act, 1975 with consequent denial of ‘nil’ rate in the said notification.
Conclusion- Considering that the tariff items within heading 8523 of First Schedule to Customs Tariff Act, 1975 do not offer scope for inclusion of ‘software’, of any type, in the residual entry ‘others’ owing to the exhaustive enumeration in description in that heading and that choice of the heading for incorporation of ‘information technology software’, prompted by the jurisdictional constraint of duty leviable only on goods, fell to media on which it was recorded, the potential for claiming an alternative tariff item as intended for the impugned goods is lacking. Consequently, the onus placed on customs authorities before taking up declared classification for substitution has not been discharged. The re-classification in the impugned order, therefore, is without authority of law.
FULL TEXT OF THE CESTAT MUMBAI ORDER
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