Declared description mismatch defeats concessional duty claim when import documents and surrounding facts do not support the exemption.

Imported goods were examined against the declared description in the Bill of Entry for eligibility to concessional duty under Notification No. 21/2002-Cus. The contemporaneous invoice described the goods as track shoe items, while the Bill of Entry described them as hot rolled sections. The importer's photographs did not establish that they related to the very goods imported, and the goods were not available for physical verification after clearance. On these facts, the department's view that the goods were not the declared hot rolled sections was accepted, so the exemption was denied and the classification adopted by the department was upheld.

---

---

Issues: Whether the imported goods were correctly classified as hot rolled sections eligible for concessional duty under Notification No. 21/2002-Cus., or whether they were track shoe parts classifiable under a different heading and therefore ineligible for the exemption.

Analysis: The invoice accompanying the consignment described the goods as track shoe items and referred to shipment in accordance with the purchase order, while the Bill of Entry described them as hot rolled sections. The photographs produced by the appellant were not shown to be photographs of the very goods imported in the present case. The goods had already been cleared and were not available for physical verification at the time of post clearance audit. In these circumstances, the appellant failed to satisfactorily rebut the department's case that the imported goods were not the declared hot rolled sections.

Conclusion: The goods were held not to be eligible for the benefit of Notification No. 21/2002-Cus., and the department's classification view was accepted.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed and the duty demand with interest as confirmed in the impugned order stood sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the contemporaneous import documents and surrounding circumstances show that the goods imported are different from the description claimed in the Bill of Entry, and the importer fails to rebut that discrepancy, the exemption claimed on the basis of the declared description cannot be allowed.

---