Tariff deeming fiction cannot extend to motor vehicle compliance; CKD e-rickshaw kits need no Type Approval Certificate.

E-rickshaw kits imported in CKD condition were treated as parts for assembly, so a Type Approval Certificate under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules was not required for clearance. The deeming fiction in Rule 2(a) of the General Rules for Interpretation of the Customs Tariff Act was held to operate only for tariff classification and duty assessment, and could not be extended to import policy restrictions or Motor Vehicles regulatory requirements. On that basis, the confiscation and penalty action was unsustainable and the goods were ordered to be released with consequential reliefs.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether e-rickshaw kits imported in CKD condition required a Type Approval Certificate under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 for clearance; (ii) whether Rule 2(a) of the General Rules for the Interpretation of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 could be used to treat such CKD kits as a complete vehicle for the purpose of import policy and the CMV Rules.

Issue (i): Whether e-rickshaw kits imported in CKD condition required a Type Approval Certificate under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 for clearance.

Analysis: The imported goods were parts of an e-rickshaw in CKD condition and not a complete new vehicle. The requirement of type approval under Rule 126 is directed to manufacturers or importers of a motor vehicle as such, and the regulatory purpose is to ensure compliance for a vehicle model intended to be imported as a vehicle. The legal position applied in the judgment was that this requirement does not extend to mere kits or spare parts imported for assembly.

Conclusion: No Type Approval Certificate was required for clearance of the e-rickshaw kits in CKD condition.

Issue (ii): Whether Rule 2(a) of the General Rules for the Interpretation of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 could be used to treat such CKD kits as a complete vehicle for the purpose of import policy and the CMV Rules.

Analysis: The judgment held that the deeming fiction under Rule 2(a) operates only for customs tariff classification and assessment of duty. That fiction cannot be extended to import policy restrictions or to the substantive requirements of the Motor Vehicles law and the rules made thereunder. On that basis, CKD kits could not be treated as complete vehicles for the purpose of insisting on a Type Approval Certificate or for invoking confiscation under the import control provisions.

Conclusion: Rule 2(a) could not be applied beyond tariff classification, and the confiscation and penalty action could not be sustained on that basis.

Final Conclusion: The demand for a Type Approval Certificate was held unsustainable, the confiscation and penalty order was set aside, and the importers were entitled to release of the goods and consequential reliefs.

Ratio Decidendi: A deeming fiction in tariff interpretation cannot be extended to import policy or motor vehicle regulatory requirements, and a Type Approval Certificate is not required for import of e-rickshaw kits in CKD condition.

---