BTS ancillary equipment classification supports concessional customs duty for mini-link radio units used in cellular networks.

Imported mini-link radio units used in cellular mobile networks were treated as BTS ancillary equipment because the product literature showed they provided backhaul connectivity between Base Transceiver Stations and Base Station Controllers and enabled call routing within the network. The technical evidence supported classification under Entry No. 5 of List 29 to Notification No. 20/99-Cus., and the earlier Spice Telecom ruling on radio terminals as ancillary BTS equipment reinforced that view. As the department did not dislodge the factual and technical basis accepted below, the concessional customs duty benefit was held admissible.

---

---

Issues: Whether the imported mini-link radio units were classifiable as BTS ancillary equipment covered by Entry No. 5 of List 29 appended to Sl. No. 175 of Notification No. 20/99-Cus. dated 28.02.1999 so as to qualify for concessional customs duty.

Analysis: The goods were imported for use in cellular mobile telephone networks and the product literature showed that they provided point-to-point or point-to-multipoint backhaul connectivity between Base Transceiver Stations and Base Station Controllers. The equipment routed calls between BTS and BSC, and the technical material supported the finding that such radio units were necessary for interconnectivity within the cellular system. The earlier decision in Spice Telecom, holding radio terminals to be ancillary equipment for BTS and therefore entitled to the benefit of a similar exemption notification, fully supported the assessee's claim. The department did not dislodge the factual and technical basis accepted by the first appellate authority.

Conclusion: The imported goods were BTS ancillary equipment covered by Entry No. 5 of List 29 and the concessional benefit under Notification No. 20/99-Cus. was admissible to the importer.

---