2016 (9) TMI 572

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....The appellant is engaged in the manufacture of various types of welded Wire Mesh, which has been supplied to poultry farms and is being used as poultry farm accessories to cover the poultry cages. The dispute is essentially a classification dispute. The appellant was paying duty under the heading 7314 by treating the same as articles of Iron & Steel. Subsequently, they changed the classification to 8436 as goods for poultry keeping machinery which were chargeable to nil rate of duty. Under intimation to their jurisdictional central excise authorities, they stopped paying duty on the same. Revenue carried out investigation and issued a show cause notice dated 10-10-2012, demanding duty for clearances mad by the appellant during the period 09....

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....on of the Bangalore Bench of this tribunal, the classification is under Chapter heading 8436.99. We not that this decision is in respect of the Central Excise Tariff existing during the period 1999-2000, whereas the Hon'ble High Court's decision is in respect of the tariff  as it existed in the late 1980s. We also further note that the Central Excise Tariff was switched over to 8 digit classification in 2005. The classification of the goods in the impugned order covering the period 2009-13 is to be decided on the basis of 8 digit tariff existing at the time of the present proceedings, viz. 2009-13. We have seen the entry no. 8436 as it existed prior to 2005 and post 2005. The entry in the new tariff includes the parts of poultry keepin....

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....poultry keeping machinery. If the goods are considered as simple products of Iron & Steel, the classification indicated is Heading 7314. Further, we find that in the case discussed above, where the classification of similar goods have been examined, it has been decided that the goods in question are more appropriately classifiable as parts of poultry machinery falling within the scope of tariff Entry no. 84369100. For clear understanding of the above conclusion, we reproduce para 16 and 17 of the order dated 16-05-2014 passed by the commissioner of Central Excise, Hyderabad, which read as under: "16. The assessee's plea regarding earlier period is correct. The classification of these items in their own case has been settled by the Hon'ble....

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....se developments is that there is no contrary decision of higher forum regarding classification of the subject items and the Delhi High Court order is held to be not binding on the lower appellate authority by the Hon'ble Supreme Court while disposing of the SLP filed by the assessee. 17. On the legal position, it is seen that Tariff Heading 84369100 is not dealing with machinery or equipments perse but with parts of poultry keeping machinery or poultry incubators and broodes. Reading together Note-I of Section XV, Note-2 of Section XVI and the scope of the entry in the above Tariff heading, it is apparent that there is no changed circumstances to warrant the change of classification as already upheld by the Hon'bel Tribunal in the assesse....