Military stores exemption under customs notification upheld for imported survival packs treated as covered goods.

Imported survival packs were treated as falling within the general description of "military stores" under Serial No. 4 of Notification No. 206/76-Cus., following an earlier Tribunal view that similar oxygen cylinders qualified for the same exemption. On that reading, the notification benefit was available to the goods, and the exemption claim was upheld. The departmental challenge was rejected because the imported items were covered by the notification's scope as military stores.

---

---

Issues: Whether imported survival packs were covered as "military stores" under Serial No. 4 of Notification No. 206/76-Cus. and entitled to the exemption benefit claimed.

Analysis: The imported goods were examined in the light of the earlier Tribunal decision involving similar imports, where oxygen cylinders were held to fall within the expression "military stores" under Serial No. 4 of Notification No. 206/76-Cus. The same notification was applied here, and the Tribunal treated the survival packs as goods of the general description "military stores". On that basis, the claimed exemption was held available.

Conclusion: The respondents were entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 206/76-Cus.; the appeal failed.

Final Conclusion: The imported goods qualified for exemption as military stores, and the departmental challenge to the grant of notification benefit was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Goods falling within the general description of "military stores" under an exemption notification are entitled to the benefit of that notification when the notification so provides.

---