TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2006 (5) TMI 90
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..../- and classified them under Heading 85.24 and claimed exemption from payment of customs duty under Notification No. 20/99-Cus. It will be convenient to refer to the relevant portion of the notification : Information technology software,"85.24 - (i) and Document of title conveying the right to(ii) use Information Technology software. Explanation :- "information technology Software" means any representation of instructions, data, sound or image including source code and object code, recorded in a machine readable form, and capable of being manipulated or providing interactivity to a user, by means of an automatic data processing machine. [Hereinafter referred to as the 'amended notification'] 3.It may be noted that this explan....
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.... and recorded in the tapes. This positional information is transferred on the created objects so that they perform in a similar manner. The transfer of this data on to the object is done with the help of a software known as 'soft image'. In other words, the goods imported are in the nature of data recorded in the tapes which can only be transferred to other objects using software which is not part of the imported consignment. It is significant that the goods imported do not consist of a programme which would enable the manipulation of the files. In that sense, in the condition in which they have been imported, they are not capable of being manipulated but remain mere information. Thus, even though the files contain data in a machine readabl....
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....only data and not programme or set of instructions and therefore not covered under the notification. He further contended that the imported files were mere information and not capable of being manipulated automatic data processing machine. That the amended notification though has expanded the width and scope of the exemption notification but the same was not enough for the software in question to be included. 7.As against this, Shri V. Sridharan, learned counsel appearing for the Respondent contended that the scope of the amended notification is much wider than the earlier exemption notification. As per amended notification any kind of data which is capable of being manipulated by automatic data processing, would be covered by the term '....
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.... which directs the computer to execute commands that solve practical problems. .... Software is written by programmers in any number of programming languages. This information, the source code, must then be translated by means of a compiler into machine language, which the computer can understand and act on." 9.A.C. Downton, Computer and Microprocessors postulates that if a software is required to load a programme on the computer then the programme which has to be loaded on the computer does not cease to be a software and the same continues to be a software. 10.Prof. S. Raman, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, at IIT, Madras, responded to the query raised by the Revenue as under : "The motion capt....
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....be used as independent entities. 12.Submission of the learned counsel appearing for the Revenue that the 'Capture Animation Files' are not software since another software is required to load the same is without any substance. It is evident from the book of Computers and Microprocessors by A.C. Downton, that a loader programme is required to load software on the disk of the computer. This concept is called as boot strapping. In other words, if software is required to load a programme on the computer then the programme which has to be loaded on the computer continues to be software. Simply because the 'Motion Capture Animation Files' requires another software known as 'soft image' to get the final result does not detract the goods under im....