Customs duty on reusable empty barrels cleared from an export unit applied under the notification's repeated-use container rule.

Empty barrels cleared by a 100% export-oriented unit to the domestic tariff area were treated as containers capable of repeated use, so they fell under condition 5(b) of Notification No. 53/97-Cus. and attracted customs duty on the relevant import value and rate. Condition 5(c) was confined to used packing materials unsuitable for repeated use, such as cardboard boxes or poly bags, and did not cover reusable barrels. The discussion also noted that excisability was irrelevant because the demand was based on customs duty under condition 5(b).

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Issues: Whether empty barrels cleared by a 100% export-oriented unit to the domestic tariff area were liable to customs duty under condition 5(b) of Notification No. 53/97-Cus. dated 3-6-1997, or fell within condition 5(c) as used packing materials unsuitable for repeated use.

Analysis: The goods were barrels capable of repeated use, and therefore did not answer to the description of packing materials unsuitable for repeated use. Condition 5(b) of the notification covered goods other than those in condition 5(a), including containers suitable for repeated use, and required payment of customs duty on the value at the time of import at the rate in force on the date of payment. Condition 5(c) applied only to used packing materials such as cardboard boxes and poly bags of a kind unsuitable for repeated use, which could be cleared without payment of customs duty. The demand was for customs duty under condition 5(b), so the question of excisability was irrelevant.

Conclusion: The clearance of empty barrels attracted customs duty under condition 5(b) of Notification No. 53/97-Cus. dated 3-6-1997, and the contrary view was rejected.

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