Misclassification dispute between copra and dry coconut turned...

Misclassification dispute between copra and dry coconut turned on jurisdiction to invoke customs recovery powers and on valuation of export goods. Tribunal found absence of any DGFT determination voiding export incentive instruments fatal to asserting customs recovery jurisdiction, and concluded officers lacked foundation to invoke recovery without prior licensing-authority invalidation. Examination of Harmonized System nomenclature and Explanatory Notes showed no reliable distinction between the descriptions in trade parlance, rendering re-determined value unsupported. Because eligibility for scrips was not invalidated by the licensing authority, re-determination and recovery were without jurisdiction; confiscation and penalty could not be sustained, and the impugned order was set aside allowing the appeals.

---