Stamping foils as embellishments qualified for concessional customs treatment despite later policy book omissions.

Stamping foils imported in running length for leather footwear were treated as embellishments for Notification No. 29/79-Cus because trade understanding and usage supported that description. A prior decision involving the same importers had already recognised stamping foils as embellishments and entitled them to concessional treatment, and the later absence of specific reference in ITC policy books did not displace that position. The record also did not show that the licensing period necessarily matched the date of import, so the earlier reasoning remained applicable. On that basis, the concessional benefit was available.

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Issues: Whether stamping foils in running length imported for leather footwear were entitled to treatment as embellishments for the purpose of Notification No. 29/79-Cus.

Analysis: The appeal turned on whether the goods answered the description of embellishments. The prior decision in respect of the same appellants had held, on the basis of trade understanding and usage, that stamping foils were embellishments and therefore qualified for the concessional benefit. The absence of specific mention of stamping foils in later ITC policy books was not sufficient to displace that earlier conclusion, especially when the record did not show that the licensing period necessarily coincided with the date of import. The reasoning also remained unaffected by the later dissent concerning different goods that performed a substantive function beyond decoration.

Conclusion: Stamping foils were held to be embellishments for the purposes of Notification No. 29/79-Cus, and the appellants were entitled to the concessional benefit.

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