TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1997 (1) TMI 360
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....Trailer and Semi-Trailers under Tariff Heading 8704 as motor vehicle for transportation of goods rejecting the claim of the assessee appellant to classify the said goods under sub-heading 8716.00. By the said order, the Assistant Collector also denied the claim of the assessee appellant to the benefit of Notification No. 1/93 as such benefit is not given to goods coming within sub-heading 8704. 2. The appellants are engaged in the manufacture of the types of products falling under sub-heading 8704.00 and sub-heading 8716 and the same have been declared in the relevant classification lists. In case of goods falling under sub-heading 8704.00 the product manufactured by the appellant is a Pressure Vessel which is fixed on chasis and it....
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....ulated Vehicle. He also explained to us the process of making a semi-trailer. He explained to us the difference between products of chapter sub-headings 8704 and 8716 as mentioned Excise Tariff at page 96. He relied heavily on the decisions rendered by (a) Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of Union of India v. Darshan Singh Pavitar Singh - 1990 (47) E.L.T. 532 (P & H) and (b) Heat Weld v. Collector of Central Excise - 1992 (57) E.L.T. 432 (Tribunal). He also invited our attention to the HSN explanatory notes at pages 1439 to 1441. He invited our attention to invoices of other manufactures also claimed for similar products sub-heading at 8716. He stated that the Transport authorities register it as an articulated vehicle. 3.&emsp....
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..... 8716.10 Trailers and semi-trailers of the caravan type, for housing or camping 8716.10  Self-loading or self-unloading trailers and semi-trailers for agricultural purposes. Other trailers and semi-trailers for the transport of goods : 8716.31  Tanker trailers and tanker semi-trailers 8716.39  Other 8716.40  Other trailers and semi-trailers 8716.80  Other vehicles 8716.90  Parts. This heading covers a group of non-mechanically propelled vehicles (other than those of the preceding headings) equipped with one or more wheels and constructed for the transport of goods or persons. It also includes non-mechanical vehicles not fitted with wheels (e.g. sledges, special sleds running on tim....
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....actured according to the specifications of individual buyers. The buyers consist of transport operators, oil ethylene oxide, LPG carriers and others. Each buyer supplies a duty paid prime moving vehicle and the rear wheels of the tanker. The prime moving vehicle is normally a TELCO or Ashok Leyland Vehicle. The pamphlets of the manufacturers describe such vehicle to be", "Full Forward control tractor Chassis with windshield" in case of TELCO and a "Taurus truck Chassis" in case of Ashok Leyland. First, the tanker is fabricated in the appellants' factory. Its rear end is mounted on the rear wheels and the front portion rests on the chassis of the prime moving vehicle. In the drawing submitted by the appellants about 1/3rd to 1/4th of the tan....
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....n articulated vehicle. 6. In fact in the Tribunal case in Heat Weld supra the Counsel for appellant vehemently argued in the same way as is done by the department which was not accepted by the Tribunal. We are therefore of the view that the decisions of the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) and that the Assistant Collector cannot be upheld. The goods in question are classifiable under Heading 8716 and not under Heading 8704. Hence the appellant is entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 1/93. 7. Appeal allowed. 8. [Order per : Gowri Shankar, Member (T)]. - I agree with the conclusion in the preceding order would like to add the following. 9. The Commissioner(Appeals) has found that the goods manufa....
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....ld follow from this that trailer would have an independent existence. 11. It is not clear from where the Commissioner comes to the conclusion that in each case of a tanker mounted on a chassis, the prime mover is supplied by the buyer. There is no such averment in the notice. It would of course be necessary for a prime mover to tow away the trailer manufactured by the appellant. But it does not follow from this that the appellant cannot manufacture these goods in the absence of the prime mover. In other words, we have to ask ourselves the question "Is the article, when presented for clearance, complete without a prime mover?". In my view, the answer is in the affirmative. The trailers are capable of being marketed and used without b....