TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2009 (10) TMI 247
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....rs of Slag Pots/Slag Ladle Cups, out of which 119 numbers were used for captive consumption without payment of duty. They initially classified the said goods under Chapter Heading 7325.10 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and availed the benefit of Notification No. 67/95-C.E., dated 16-3-1995. Subsequently, they classified the said product under Chapter Heading 8454.10 and availed the benefit of the said Notification. The Department issued a show cause notice alleging wilful misclassification by the appellants and proposing classification under Chapter Heading 8609.00 and proposing recovery of duty of Rs.4,00,74,079.00 and proposing for imposition of penalty. The Commissioner vide the impugned Order upheld the classification as proposed in the show cause notice and held that they are not eligible for the benefit of the Notification No. 67/95-C.E. and confirmed the demand of duty of Rs.4,06,53,778.00 along with the interest and imposed an equal amount of penalty. 4.1 According to the learned Advocate, the nature and specifications of the product in question are as follows:- "A ladle weighs approximately 21 MT to 28 MT with a carrying capacity of 15 Normal Cubic Meter (NM3....
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....Section 11AC, as there is no wilful misstatement or suppression of facts, as held by the Adjudicating Commissioner. 5. Learned Joint CDR reiterates the findings and reasonings of the Commissioner, in so far as the same relates to classification of the product in question. He also reiterates the grounds raised in the cross-objection. 6.1 We have carefully considered the submissions from both sides. At the outset, it has been submitted by the assessee that Slag Pot and Slag Ladle Cup are one and the same product. This has been accepted by the Commissioner. The dispute relates to the classification of the above product whether under 8609.00 as held by the Department, or under 8454.10 as claimed by the party. At this juncture, it would be appropriate to reproduce the wordings or the relevant entries which are as follows:- "84.54 Converters, ladles, ingot moulds and casting machines, of a kind used in metallurgy or in metal foundries 8454.10 - All goods other than parts 13% 8454.90 - Parts 13% 86.09 8609.00 Containers (including containers for the transport of fluids) s....
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....he field of metallurgy and foundries. It has been submitted that temperature of liquid slag discharged from the blast furnace is between 1400 degree centigrade to 1450 degree centigrade. That being the case, the product in question has been specially designed to help in transporting materials of high temperature. The Chapter Heading 86.09 does not refer to the goods as specially meant for any particular industry. Chapter 86.09 basically refers to containers specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more modes of transport. The emphasis in the Heading 86.09 is on "various types of containers meant for different modes of transport". Considering the nature, specifications and industry in which it is used, the impugned product appears to be of more specifically covered under 8454.10, as already noted. 8454.10 specifically covers ladle. The said ladle holds molten metal from a furnace and pours it into converters or moulds. The product in question is specially designed for use in metallurgy and foundries to handle high temperature products. The same does not deserve to be considered merely under 86.09 warranting the same to be taken away from 84.54. 6.4 The Tribunal in t....
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....nto consideration the load of liquid metal and the rail characteristics. The rails also should be capable of withstanding the axle loads of a particular ladle as well as to suit the profile of the wheels of locomotives for hauling up of the ladle car. The fitting mechanism is provided and mounted on the under-carriage of the ladle. The write-up specifically indicates that the ladle is mounted on the under-frames and the rails on which these TLCs are designed to move are dimensionally compatible with locomotive in use in India. As per 'General' section notes of Section XVII, machines or equipments, particularly of the type falling in Section XVI, when mounted on the vehicle chassis of Section XVII, the classification of the resultant mobile machine depends on various factors, in particular on the type of base. So, for the purpose of proper classification of the impugned goods, it is most essential to determine the type of the under-carriage on which the ladles are mounted. The Assistant Commissioner in his impugned order has not discussed anything about the type of undercarriage to come to the conclusion that the ladles are mounted on simple wheeled platform and not on true ra....