Trade classification by ordinary understanding denied concessional duty where stainless steel imports matched sheet specifications, not plates.

Stainless steel goods imported as sheets in the invoice and bill of entry could not be treated as plates for concessional duty under Notification No. 44/71-Cus. The goods were described by the foreign supplier and the importer as sheets, and their thickness was below 5 mm, matching ISI specifications for sheets rather than plates. In the absence of any statutory definition in the Act, tariff or notification, classification had to follow ordinary trade and industry understanding as reflected in accepted specifications. A departmental circular could not override the goods' description or the applicable specifications, so the claim for re-assessment and concessional benefit failed.

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Issues: Whether stainless steel goods imported and described in the invoice and bill of entry as sheets could be treated as plates for the purpose of availing the concessional rate under Notification No. 44/71-Cus.

Analysis: The imported goods were described by the foreign supplier as stainless steel sheets and were also declared as such in the bill of entry. The thickness of the goods was below 5 mm, and on that basis they answered the ISI specifications for sheets rather than plates. In the absence of any definition in the Act, Tariff or notification, the accepted trade and industry understanding could be drawn from the ISI specifications. The departmental circular relied upon by the appellants had no statutory force and could not override the description of the goods or the applicable specifications.

Conclusion: The goods were not plates and therefore did not qualify for the benefit of Notification No. 44/71-Cus.; the claim for re-assessment failed.

Final Conclusion: The import was held outside the concessional classification claimed by the appellants, and the appeal failed on the only issue substantively decided.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of a statutory definition, classification for exemption or concessional benefit must accord with the ordinary trade understanding of the goods, as reflected by accepted specifications and the descriptions furnished in the import documents.

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