Suction catheter classification for medical imports allows customs exemption for a follicle aspiration set used in IVF procedures

An imported follicle aspiration set used in IVF/ET procedures was treated as a suction catheter because it performed aspiration through a natural body passage and matched the ordinary meaning of a catheter as a tube for removing or injecting fluids. Contemporaneous medical material and a supporting certificate confirmed that the item functioned as a suction catheter. On that basis, it fell within Sl. No. 32 of Part B of the Schedule to Notification No. 208/81-Cus., and exemption was available.

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Issues: Whether the imported follicle aspiration set was a suction catheter eligible for exemption under Notification No. 208/81-Cus. dated 22-9-1981.

Analysis: The imported set was described as an apparatus used for laparoscopic or ultrasound-guided puncture in IVF/ET procedures. The expression "aspiration" was treated as synonymous with suction. The decisive consideration was that the set could be used through a natural body passage, and a catheter is a tube for removing or injecting fluids through such a passage. The contemporaneous medical material and supporting certificate also indicated that the item was a suction catheter.

Conclusion: The follicle aspiration set was held to be a suction catheter falling within Sl. No. 32 of Part B of the Schedule to Notification No. 208/81-Cus., and the exemption was available to the importer.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an imported medical device performs suction through a natural body passage for a recognised therapeutic procedure, it may be classified as a suction catheter for exemption purposes under the relevant notification.

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