Product literature can establish exemption eligibility when chemical testing is inconclusive for imported goods

Where a conclusive chemical test is unavailable, product literature and contemporaneous descriptions may be relied on to identify imported goods for exemption purposes. The chemical examiner's report did not definitively name the product, but the literature described it as sodium calcium ascorbyl-2-phosphate with synonyms and composition consistent with ascorbyl polyphosphate. On that basis, the goods were treated as matching the exemption entry under Notification No. 23/98, and concessional duty was allowed with consequential relief.

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Issues: Whether the imported goods were correctly identified as Ascorbyl Polyphosphate so as to qualify for exemption under Notification No. 23/98.

Analysis: The chemical examiner's report was inconclusive and did not definitively identify the product by name. In the absence of a conclusive test result, the description in the product literature was relied upon. That literature showed the product as sodium calcium ascorbyl-2-phosphate, with synonyms and composition consistent with ascorbyl polyphosphate. The contemporaneous product data and supporting literature also described the goods in terms consistent with the exemption entry.

Conclusion: The imported goods were held to be Ascorbyl Polyphosphate covered by the notification, and the appellants were held entitled to exemption.

Final Conclusion: The denial of concessional duty was set aside and the appeal succeeded with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a conclusive chemical test is absent, product literature and contemporaneous description may establish that imported goods answer the exemption entry under the notification.

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