Foley Balloon Catheters treated as Suction Catheters, with exemption upheld under the import notification.

Foley Balloon Catheters were treated as Suction Catheters for OGL clearance and exemption under Notification No. 208/81-Cus. The Tribunal relied on earlier decisions on the same product, which had been followed by the Bombay High Court, and found no distinguishing factual feature. It applied the principle that a coordinate Bench decision should be followed in similar matters and the settled rule that ambiguity in a fiscal enactment must be construed in favour of the assessee. On that basis, the goods fell within the relevant import description and qualified for the notification benefit.

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Issues: Whether Foley Balloon Catheters were to be treated as Suction Catheters for purposes of OGL clearance and entitlement to exemption under Notification No. 208/81-Cus., dated 22nd September, 1981.

Analysis: The goods imported were Foley Balloon Catheters. The controversy had already been examined in earlier Tribunal decisions on the same product, and those decisions had been followed by the Bombay High Court. The Tribunal noted that the earlier view, supported by medical certificates and trade understanding, had held Foley Balloon Catheters to be Suction Catheters eligible for clearance under OGL and for exemption under the notification. Faced with divergent expert opinions and no distinguishing factual feature, the Tribunal applied the principle that a coordinate Bench decision should be followed in similar matters. It also applied the settled rule that where interpretation of a fiscal enactment is open to doubt, the construction favourable to the assessee should be adopted.

Conclusion: Foley Balloon Catheters were held to fall within the relevant import description and were entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 208/81-Cus., dated 22nd September, 1981.

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