Final customs classification cannot be reopened retrospectively to create past duty liability; later reclassification operates prospectively.

A final quasi-judicial classification order was treated as binding unless revised or modified according to law, so a later reclassification could not be applied retrospectively to create duty liability for an earlier period. The prevailing view was that the changed tariff classification operated only prospectively from the subsequent decision date, because a concluded classification could not be reopened with past effect. A concurring opinion agreed with dismissal of the appeal but differed on the temporal reach, stating that any reassessment and demand would still be governed by the limitation period under Section 11A.

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Issues: Whether the earlier classification order of the Assistant Collector, having attained finality, could be reopened retrospectively so as to fasten duty liability from an anterior date.

Analysis: The order treating the goods as outside Tariff Item 52 was held to be an adjudicatory order made by a quasi-judicial authority. Since it had not been revised or modified in the manner known to law, finality attached to it. The later view that the goods fell under Tariff Item 52 could therefore operate only from the date of the subsequent classification decision. A concluded classification could not be altered with retrospective effect to create duty liability for the past.

Conclusion: The retrospective application of the revised classification was held to be not legally tenable, and the duty consequence could arise only prospectively.

Concurring Opinion: The Vice-President agreed with the dismissal of the appeal, but differed on the prospective-only holding. He considered that the reassessment and consequent demand would be governed by the limitation provisions under Section 11A, and that the change in classification could reach back for the period permitted by limitation. Despite this disagreement on reasoning, he concurred in the dismissal of the appeal.

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