Finished leather classification left open exemption claim under Customs Notification required fresh reconsideration on remand.

Finished leather in the form of strips and slabs was found by the lower authorities, so the broader classification dispute between leather scrap and the relevant tariff entry did not require determination. Because exemption under Notification No. 136/92-Cus. had not been claimed or examined below, eligibility under that notification required fresh consideration. The matter was remanded to the jurisdictional Assistant Collector to decide the exemption claim after giving the appellants an opportunity of being heard.

---

---

Issues: Whether the claim for exemption under Notification No. 136/92-Cus. dated 11-3-1992 required reconsideration after the goods were found to be finished leather.

Analysis: The lower authorities had recorded a finding that the goods were finished leather in the form of strips and slabs. In that situation, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to decide the broader classification controversy relating to leather scrap vis-a -vis the entry in the Second Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Since the exemption under Notification No. 136/92-Cus. had neither been claimed before nor examined by the authorities below, the issue of eligibility under that notification needed fresh consideration after giving the appellants an opportunity of being heard.

Conclusion: The matter was remanded to the jurisdictional Assistant Collector to decide eligibility for exemption under Notification No. 136/92-Cus. after affording an opportunity to the appellants.

---