Classification of imported wheel rims upheld on contemporaneous evidence, despite later reclassification of a subsequent consignment.

Wheel rims imported under earlier Bills of Entry were treated as parts of harvester combine machinery under Chapter 84 because first-check examination, sample testing, the Chartered Engineer's opinion and market inquiry all supported the declared description and value. The Revenue's later attempt to reclassify those goods as wheel rims for commercial vehicles under Chapter 87, and to levy countervailing duty on that basis, was not justified because a subsequent reclassification of a later consignment from the same supplier did not displace the contemporaneous evidence for the earlier imports.

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Issues: Whether the earlier imported wheel rims were correctly classified as parts of harvester combine machinery under Chapter 84 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, or were liable to be treated as wheel rims for commercial vehicles under Chapter 87 and charged to countervailing duty.

Analysis: The goods covered by the earlier Bills of Entry were examined on first check basis, samples were drawn, and the Chartered Engineer's opinion, supported by market inquiry, described them as wheel rims of harvester combine and accepted the declared value. The Revenue sought to disturb that classification only because a later consignment from the same supplier was reclassified on the basis of a different report. That later development did not dislodge the earlier examination findings or justify reopening the classification of the earlier imports, especially when the same contemporaneous evidence supported the appellant's declared description.

Conclusion: The earlier imports were correctly treated as wheel rims of harvester combine, and the Revenue's attempt to reclassify them as commercial vehicle parts was not justified.

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