1985 (6) TMI 187

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....e appellants or Heading 73.33/40 ibid as assessed by the Revenue. 2. The Assistant Collector of Customs rejected the claim for re-assessment and refund by order dated 19-1-1977 holding that the goods are small cut pieces of wire used for the enforcement and are manufactured to a given length of 3/8' to 1/2 , hence they were manufactured articles out of wire and not wire itself. The assessment, therefore, under Heading 73.33/40 at the time of import was held by him to be correct. Appellate Collector of Customs, Bombay, by his order dated 8-11-1977 held that the wires after cold drawing had undergone a process of shredding and as such these were not usual wires falling under Item 73.14 or 73.15 of Customs Tariff Act. With this reasoning....

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....ulation as to length of wire and same is true of definition of 'wire' contained in clause (o), Section 15, Chapter 73 of CCCN. In trade, as would be evident from purchase specification and certificate issued by the Technical Superintendent referred to above, the goods are known as shredded wire, i.e., inspite of shredding it still retains its identity as wire. He also submitted that in any case Heading 73.33/40 - Other articles of iron or steel - was not at all applicable in the case of the subject goods because the goods are alloys consisting of high carbon steel wires and copper and zinc (i.e. brass). It would thus not be iron or steel and being an alloy not fall under Heading 73.33/40 and the appropriate and specific classification for t....

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...., flat or of any other section including grooved section characterised by the fact that it has been subjected to a sizing operation at ambient temperature by the process of drawing through a die or by other mechanical means. Wire is generally supplied in coil form but in exceptional cases can also be supplied in straight lengths. It shall also fall within the following dimensional limits : (a) Round - 12.5 mm diameter, Max. (b) Square - 12.5 mm side, Max. (c) Hexagonal and Other Sections - 10.0 mm wide across, Max. (d) Flat : Width            12.5 mm Max. Thickness           6.3 mm Max. (e) Half-round     ....

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....ulation as to length. According to this definition, even a slender flexible rod could be wire. As to Shri Rohtagi's reliance on McGraw Hill's Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms and the argument that wire can be only in continuous length, the definition of wire is set out in Tariff itself and is also available in ISI specifications and the two do not have the requirement of continuous length. It is better to prefer these two definitions rather than accept the McGraw Hill's Dictionary. This apart, it is well settled that meaning of terms used in a Fiscal institute should be understood in trade parlance. ISI definition has been accepted to be representing trade understanding. That, as already stated, has no restriction as to length. ....