Exemption for blood-warming equipment denied where imported warming blankets did not perform thawing function.

Imported warming blankets with a blower system were held not to fall within Sl. No. 54 of List 37 of Notification No. 21/2002-Cus. for "Thawer Equipment for Blood Warming". The notification extended concessional customs duty only to specified medical equipment, and the product literature showed that the goods were used for convective warming of a patient's body after surgery, not for thawing or warming frozen blood. As the goods did not perform the function contemplated by the exemption entry, they were outside the scope of the notification and not eligible for customs duty exemption.

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Issues: Whether the imported blanket with blower system was covered by Sl. No. 54 of List 37 of Notification No. 21/2002-Cus. as "Thawer Equipment for Blood Warming", and thus eligible for exemption from customs duty.

Analysis: The notification granted concessional duty to specified medical equipment and to the goods listed in List 37. Sl. No. 54 of List 37 covered "Thawer Equipment for Blood Warming". On the product literature and the evidence on record, the imported goods were warming blankets with a blower used for convective warming of a patient's body after surgery. The expression "thawer equipment" was understood as apparatus for melting frozen substances or warming frozen blood, such as blood used in blood banks. The imported goods did not perform that function and were distinct from thawing equipment for blood warming.

Conclusion: The imported goods were not eligible for the exemption under the notification.

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