Inflow Technologies Private Ltd Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Chennai)
In a significant ruling, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) Chennai has decided in favor of Inflow Technologies Private Ltd., stating that Wireless Access Points (WAPs) employing Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology but not adhering to Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards are eligible for ‘nil’ customs duty. This decision, pronounced on June 10, 2025, effectively overrules the department’s interpretation that “MIMO and LTE Products” in the exemption notification should be read disjunctively.
The dispute arose from Inflow Technologies’ import of WAPs between July 2014 and June 2017. The company classified these under Customs Tariff Item 8517 6990 and claimed exemption under Sl. No. 13 of Notification No. 24/2005-Cus. dated March 1, 2005. This notification provides a ‘nil’ duty rate for “All goods except the following: – … (iv) Multiple Input/ Multiple Output (MIMO) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) Products.” The Commissioner, in the impugned Order-in-Original dated May 17, 2019, had acknowledged that the WAPs used MIMO technology but not LTE standards. However, the Commissioner interpreted the conjunction “and” in the exclusion clause as disjunctive, meaning that if a product possessed either MIMO technology or LTE standards, it would be excluded from the exemption. Consequently, since the WAPs employed MIMO, the exemption was denied.
