Import classification of non-woven fabric rolls: treated as filter media under OGL, with licence-free import upheld.

Non-woven fabric rolls used in audio magnetic tape manufacture were treated as dust-catching filter media, not wiping material, for import policy and customs classification. Competent DGFT and CCI & E clarifications specifically covered non-woven fabric rolls under the relevant OGL entry and showed import was permitted subject to actual user conditions. Those clarifications were binding on customs authorities, and the functional description did not justify reclassifying the goods as wiping material. The result was that the goods were covered by OGL, no import licence was required, and confiscation, fine, and penalty could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the imported non-woven fabric rolls were covered by OGL and could be imported without a licence, and whether the goods were correctly treated as a wiping material rather than filter media for customs classification and import policy purposes.

Analysis: The imported material was used in the manufacture of audio magnetic tapes to catch dust and foreign particles from the coated film. On its functional description, it acted as dust-catching filter media for a technical purpose and not as a wiper. The reasoning of the lower authorities that the process amounted to wiping was rejected because mere removal of dust from the surface of the tape did not amount to wiping in the relevant sense. The letters issued by DGFT and CCI & E specifically covered non-woven fabric rolls under the relevant import policy entry and indicated import under OGL subject to actual user conditions. Those competent authority clarifications were binding on customs authorities, and the customs adjudication was not supported by any expert basis sufficient to override them.

Conclusion: The imported goods were covered by OGL, no import licence was required, and the confiscation, fine, and penalty could not be sustained.

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