Tariff classification after a clarificatory circular: failure to file a fresh list was procedural and did not support duty demand.

Where a Board circular clarified the correct tariff classification, the assessee was entitled to clear the goods under that classification after the earlier classification list had been revised under protest. The failure to file a fresh classification list was only a procedural default and could attract penalty consequences, but it did not justify a duty demand under Rule 9(2). The duty demand was therefore held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether duty could be demanded for clearing goods without filing a fresh classification list after a Board circular clarified the correct tariff classification.

Analysis: The classification list had earlier been revised under protest. Once the Board issued a clarificatory circular stating that the goods were classifiable under the relevant tariff item, the assessee became entitled to clear the goods under that classification. The omission to file a fresh classification list was, at the highest, a procedural default attracting penalty consequences, but it did not justify a demand of duty under Rule 9(2).

Conclusion: The duty demand was unsustainable and the assessee succeeded.

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