Durable nature test for export packing materials accepted where disposable packaging was used to meet overseas buyer specifications.

Imported packing materials for export of perishable goods were treated as containers of durable nature for exemption under Notification No. 104/94-CUS. The expression "durable nature" was interpreted in the context of the intended use, and not as requiring repeated reuse; disposable character alone did not defeat durability where the goods were packed to overseas purchasers' specifications and reuse after export was impractical. The narrower departmental interpretation was rejected as unsupported by the record, and denial of the exemption was held unjustified.

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Issues: Whether the imported packing materials used for export of perishable goods qualified as "containers of durable nature" so as to avail exemption under Notification No. 104/94-CUS.

Analysis: The expression "durable nature" in the notification had to be understood in the context of the use for which the containers were intended. The Tribunal rejected the departmental view that durability necessarily meant capacity for repeated reuse. Since the containers were imported for packing export goods in accordance with overseas purchasers' specifications, and reuse after export was practically not possible, the mere disposable character of the packing material did not disqualify it from being durable. The interpretation adopted by the authorities below was held to be too narrow and unsupported by the material on record.

Conclusion: The packing materials were held to be containers of durable nature, and denial of the exemption under Notification No. 104/94-CUS was unjustified.

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