Binding tribunal precedent on customs valuation of iron ore fines prevailed despite pending Supreme Court appeals.

Customs duty on the FOB value of iron ore fines could not be re-opened where earlier CESTAT rulings had already decided the identical cum-duty valuation issue against the assessee and in favour of Revenue. The pendency of appeals before the Supreme Court did not remove the binding force of those Tribunal precedents. Applying the earlier decisions, the claim was rejected, the impugned order was upheld, and the appeal was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether customs duty was payable on the FOB value of iron ore fines on export by treating the value as cum-duty value.

Analysis: The issue was held to be no longer res integra, as earlier Tribunal rulings had already decided the same question against the assessee and in favour of Revenue. The existence of pending appeals before the Supreme Court did not displace the binding effect of the Tribunal precedents cited before the Court.

Conclusion: The claim of the assessee was rejected and the issue was answered in favour of Revenue.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was dismissed and the impugned order was upheld by following the Tribunal's earlier decisions on the same point.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the identical issue has already been decided by binding Tribunal precedent against the assessee, the later appeal is to be decided consistently by following those rulings unless and until they are overturned.

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