2009 (3) TMI 175 - AT - Customs

Tribunal overturns duty payment ruling, invalidates Notification No. 36/2001-Cus.

RASHMI METALS Versus COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, KANDLA

The Tribunal allowed all appeals and set aside the impugned order, ruling that the High Court's decision invalidated Notification No. 36/2001-Cus. (N.T.) ... Tariff Value – Import of Brass Scrap - Notification No. 36/2001-Cus. (N.T.) – held that - No doubt that brass scrap was not one of the disputed items before the Hon’ble High Court and no reference stands made to the said product but it is the entire Notification that stands set aside by the Hon’ble High Court without any exception to any of the product mentioned in the Notification. The reasoning of the Hon’ble High Court for setting aside the said Notification as ultra virus may be in respect of oils only but the final portion of the order sets aside the entire Notification, inclusive of the amendment. As such, it has to be held that the entire Notification was set aside, in which case, tariff value fixed vide said Notification in respect of import of brass scrap cannot be adopted. Ld. DR has not shown us any order to the contrary. The judgments relied by him are only on the issue that the Government has the powers to fix tariff value, in which there is no legal dispute. Issues:1. Interpretation of Notification No. 36/2001-Cus. (N.T.) and Notification No. 52/2001-Cus. (N.T.).2. Applicability of tariff values for brass scrap.3. Impact of the High Court's decision on the Notifications.4. Reasoning of the Commissioner (Appeals) and its validity.Analysis:1. The case involved the interpretation of Notification No. 36/2001-Cus. (N.T.) and Notification No. 52/2001-Cus. (N.T.). The appellants imported brass scrap and cleared it based on the declared value. However, the Revenue argued that the tariff value specified in the notifications should be the assessable value for duty payment. The appellants contended that the notifications were declared ultra vires by the High Court, thus duty cannot be demanded based on tariff values.2. The Tribunal examined the amendments brought by Notification No. 52/2001 to Notification No. 36/2001. The amending notification introduced brass scrap as a product subject to tariff value, effective from 9-10-2001. However, the High Court's decision on the original notification's validity impacted the entire table of tariff values. As the High Court set aside the notification, including the amendment, the Tribunal held that brass scrap no longer attracted the tariff value fixed by the notifications.3. The High Court's decision in the case of Param Industries Ltd. v. UOI was crucial. Even though brass scrap was not directly contested in that case, the entire Notification No. 36/2001-Cus. (N.T.) was invalidated. The Tribunal rejected the Commissioner (Appeals)'s argument that the High Court's decision only applied to vegetable oils, emphasizing that the entire notification was annulled without exceptions. Therefore, the tariff value for brass scrap could not be enforced post the High Court's ruling.4. The reasoning of the Commissioner (Appeals) was found to lack merit by the Tribunal. The appellate authority's argument that the High Court's decision did not cover brass scrap was dismissed. The Tribunal emphasized that the High Court's decision nullified the entire notification, including the amendment, making the tariff value inapplicable to brass scrap imports. As no contrary order was presented by the Revenue, the Tribunal allowed all appeals and provided relief to the appellants by setting aside the impugned order.In conclusion, the Tribunal's decision was based on the High Court's ruling impacting the validity of the notifications and the consequent inapplicability of tariff values for brass scrap imports.