2005 (8) TMI 532

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....56/98-Cus., dated 1-8-1998 which grants exemption from payment of SAD which has been denied in the impugned order and hence this appeal. 2. It is the contention of the appellants that the Notification clearly exempts the levy of SAD on goods, which are imported for sale as such and on the appellant making a specific declaration to that effect in the Bill of Entry in the manner specified in Sl. No. 12 of the said Notification. The declaration states that "sale of said goods will not be effected from a place located in an area where no tax is chargeable on sale or purchase of goods. In case the said goods are disposed of in any manner in contravention of the conditions specified in Notification No. 56/98-Cus., dated the 1st August, 19....

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....erefore, the proceedings initiated for levy of SAD under the omitted Section 3A of the Customs Tariff Act does not get saved under Section 6 of the General Clauses Act. It is their further submission that the goods have been sold as such without being subjected to any process and hence they are exempted from payment of SAD under the said Notification. It is submitted that there is no definition of the word 'As such' in the Customs Tariff Act and, therefore, it is necessary to interpret the expression having regard to the purpose for which SAD was levied. As the Finance Minister in his Budget Speech of the year 1998-1999 has stated that SAD was introduced basically in lieu of Sales Tax, they contend that as they had paid the sales tax, th....

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....te under Section 28 to hold that the imported goods are not sold as 'as such', but there is a process of manufacture in repacking the goods for retail sale. On a careful consideration, we notice that this legal fiction on 'manufacture' incorporated in the Chapter Note of the Excise Tariff cannot be invoked to interpret a Notification under the Customs Tariff Act. The goods have not undergone any change by any process and they remained the same even on repacking. The term 'as such' referred to in the Notification is to mean that the goods should not undergo any process of change. This change has not taken place admittedly on being repacking. Therefore, invocation of Chapter Note of Chapter 29 to hold that the goods have not been sold 'as suc....