Printed circuit board exemption extends to populated boards where component addition does not change their identity.

Populated printed circuit boards were considered in light of Notification No. 74/85 exempting printed circuit boards and unpopulated printed circuit boards from duty. The dispute centred on whether adding components changed the identity of a plain printed circuit board so as to exclude it from the exemption. The material relied on did not establish that a populated board ceased to be a printed circuit board, and a later notification exempting populated printed circuit boards could not narrow the scope of the earlier exemption. On the material before it, the factual conclusion was left undisturbed and the department's appeal was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether assembled or populated printed circuit boards were covered by Notification No. 74/85 dated 17-3-1985 exempting printed circuit boards and unpopulated printed circuit boards from duty.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the nature of the goods manufactured by the assessee and whether the addition of components to plain printed circuit boards changed their identity for the purpose of the exemption. The material relied upon by the assessee did not establish that a populated board ceased to be a printed circuit board, while the later notification exempting populated printed circuit boards could not, by itself, restrict the scope of the earlier notification. On the material before it, no reason was found to disturb the conclusion reached on the factual nature of the goods.

Conclusion: The populated printed circuit boards were not shown to fall outside the exemption as contended by the assessee, and the department's appeal was dismissed.

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