Exemption for medical equipment parts upheld where imported needles were used in manufacture of syringes after sterilisation and packing.

Unsterilized needles imported for use in manufacturing syringes with needles were held eligible for exemption under Notification No. 23/98-Cus. because the exemption covered parts required for manufacture of medical equipment falling under Heading 90.18, without needing a sub-heading reference. The needles were used after sterilisation and packing with syringes in blisters, and that process was treated as manufacture. Once the department accepted that the goods fell under Heading 90.18 and that sterilisation and packing amounted to manufacture, it could not deny that the needles were parts required for producing the medical equipment, so the exemption was upheld.

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Issues: Whether unsterilized needles imported for use in the manufacture of syringes with needles were eligible for exemption under Notification No. 23/98-Cus. dated 2-8-98.

Analysis: The exemption covered parts required for the manufacture of medical equipment falling under Heading 90.18, without requiring reference to a sub-heading. The imported needles were admittedly used after sterilization and packing along with syringes in blisters, and that activity was treated as manufacture. Once the department accepted that the goods fell under Heading 90.18 and that sterilization and packing amounted to manufacture, it could not deny that the needles were parts required for the manufacture of the medical equipment.

Conclusion: The exemption was correctly granted and the department's challenge failed.

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