TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 950
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....relevant facts having a bearing on the question(s) on which advance ruling is required 1.1. Rohde & Schwarz India Private Ltd (hereinafter referred to as the "Applicant") is a 100% owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz GmbH KG & Co, Germany, whose head office is located in New Delhi and branch offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. 1.2. The Applicant is a leading supplier of solutions in the fields of Test and Measurement, Broadcasting, Radio monitoring and Radiolocation as well as Mission-critical Radio communications. For more than 80 years, Applicant has been developing, producing and marketing a wide range of electronic products. 1.3. The Applicant submit that they have been importing PVT 360A Performance Vector Tester in the past under CTI 9030 8990. About the PVT 360A Performance Vector Tester in question 1.4. The PVT360A is a VSG/VSA is single-box vector tester optimized for FR1 Base station, small cell and RF component testing in production and characterization environments. The picture of the instrument is shown below. 1.4.1. The instrument in question consists of two independent signal generators and analyzers that enable fast parallelized measurement....
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....th modulated signals, their characteristics can be validated under realistic conditions. With its wide range of applications and the performance various wireless standards require, the PVT360A offers new possibilities for component and system characterization. Covering all 5G NR FRI and Wi-Fi(r) sub 8 GHz frequency bands on two TRX channels, the PVT360A offers the flexibility required for the applications of today and tomorrow ... 1.4.4. Thus, the Applicant submits that the PVT 360A Vector Tester is used in testing of base station covering 5G and wifi bands and RF component testing. Therefore, the Applicant submits that these are to be treated as "apparatus specially designed for telecommunications". Statement containing Applicant's interpretation of law and/or facts, as the case may be, in respect of the question(s) on which advance ruling is required 1.5. APPLICANT'S ELIGIBLITY FOR ADVANCE RULING 1.5.1 In order to file an application before the Authority for Advance Rulings, the Applicant must satisfy the conditions prescribed under the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as 'Customs Act'). 1.5.2. The Provisions related to Advance Ru....
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....pplicant is satisfying the afore-stated conditions. Therefore, the Applicant intends to know the classification of the PVT 360A Vector Tester and the rate of Basic Customs Duty applicable on import thereof and thus, is filing the present application. 1.5.9. Therefore, it flows that in the present case, the Applicant satisfies all the three-criteria required for filing the application for advance ruling, namely: (a) The Applicant possesses a valid IEC number 0500029229; (b) The question of classification of PVT 360A Vector Tester in the present application is not pending in the applicant's case before any officer of customs, the Appellate Tribunal or any Court and has never been decided by the Appellate Tribunal or any Court; (c) The application for advance ruling is in relation to clause (a) of Section 28H (2) of the Customs Act. ISSUE REQUIRING ADVANCE RULING 1.5.10. The questions on which advance ruling is sought are as follows- a. Whether the PVT 360A Vector Tester indicated in the Application are rightly classifiable under CTI 9030 40 00? b. If the answer to the above question (a) is in the negative, then, what is the ap....
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....-- For measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices (including integrated circuits) 9030 84 00 -- Other, with a recording device 9030 89 -- Other : 9030 89 10 --- Scintillator counters 9030 89 20 -- Vectroscope 9030 89 90 --- Other 1.8. The PVT 360A Vector Tester in question The PVT 360A Performance Vector Tester in question is a VSG/VSA single box tester optimized for FRI base station, small cell and RF component testing in production and characterization environments. The Applicant also submits that 500MHz maximum signal bandwidth far exceeds the 5G FRI maximum of 100MHz, supporting out of band and adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) measurements. 1.9. The Applicant submits that, in terms of HSN Explanatory Notes to Heading 9030, it can be seen that the Heading not only covers such electrical apparatus for testing voltage, current etc but also such electrical or electronic instruments used in radio communications or telecommunications. The relevant portion from the HSN is reproduced hereunder. "Some electrical measuring instruments can be used for many purposes, for example, electrical or electronic instrum....
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....sion and Telecommunications Commission" is as follows. A transmission and reception station in a fixed location, consisting of one or more receive/transmit antenna, microwave dish, and electronic circuitry, used to handle cellular traffic. It serves as a bridge between all mobile users in a cell and connects mobile calls to the mobile switching center. French: station de base. 1.11. On the other hand, the term "small cells" is defined in the "Roll out of small cells for 5g network by leveraging street furniture - to Facilitate a Standard Approach for the Proliferation of Dense Small Cell Infrastructure" Committee Report No TEC 81001:2022, Government of India, Ministry of Communications, Department of Telecommunications, Telecommunication Engineering Centre. The same is reproduced as follows. A small cell is a cellular base station that transmits & receives 3GPP-defined Radio Frequency (RF) signals with small power and small form factor. In most cases, it services a small coverage area ranging from ten meters to several hundred meters in contrast to a typical mobile macro cell that might have a range of up to several tens of kilometres. 1.12. The document is ....
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....ot specifically covered by name under the Heading 90.30, it is relevant to examine whether the subject goods in question are classifiable under the residuary CTI 9030 89 90. 1.18. However, the Applicant humbly submits that it is settled position of law that specific entry is to be preferred over general entry. Thus, residuary entry is meant only for those categories of goods which fall outside the ambit of the specific entry. It is an entry of last resort The said position of law has been laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the following decisions: a) Hindustan Poles Corporation v. CCE [2006 (196) E.L.T. 400 (S.C.)] b) CCE v. Pioneer Scientific Glass Works [2006 (197) E.L.T. 308 (S.C.)] c) CCE v. Wockhardt Life Sciences Ltd. [2012 (277) E.L.T. 299 (S.C.)] 1.19. The ratio that resorts to classification under a residuary heading cannot be done when a specific entry covers the product, is now well settled. Reliance in this regard is placed on the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court's decision in the matter of Commissioner of C. Ex. Bhubaneswar-I Vs. Champdany Industries Ltd. [2009 (241) ELT 481 (SC)]. Therefore, the Applicant submit....
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....Act, 1962. 2.2.4. As per available records and applicant's submission, the importer has imported PVT 360A Vector Tester earlier. 2.2.5. With regard to the fact whether the PVT 360A Vector Tester indicated in the application are classifiable under CTH 9030 4000, the port Commissionerate has commented that the description and function as provided by the applicant for PVT 360A Vector Tester is as below: "It is single-box vector tester optimised for FRI Base station, small cell and RF component testing in production and characterization environment. It is designed for remote operation, it offers automation capabilities for easy integration into testbeds" 2.2.6. The applicant also submits that the goods are used for testing various parameters of telecommunication. 2.2.7. For classification in CTH 9030 4000, the goods are to be used specifically for telecommunication and also should be one of the instruments mentioned in the CTH description such as cross talk meter, gain measuring instrument, distortion factor meter or psophometer. 2.2.8. As per the usage of the instruments as submitted by the importer does not match with any of the instruments specified in CT....
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....ers b. 400 MHz to 8 GHz frequency range covering all FRI frequency bands c. Up to 500 MHz bandwidth d. Hardware-accelerated test sequencing e. Small form factor f. Multiport operation g. Extensive signal generation and analysis software 2.3.9. From the submission, it is observed that the item incorporates a signal generator as well as a signal analyser the item is capable of signal analysis. 2.3.10.Based on the above submissions, the items appear to cover under the CTH 9030 which corresponds to "Other Instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities. For the ease of reference, relevant portions of the CTH are produced below: 9030 OSCILLOSCOPES, SPECTRUM ANALYSERS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING OR INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS CHECKING ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES, EXCLUDING METERS OF HEADING 9028; INSTRUMENTS APPARATUS FOR MEASURING OR DETECTING ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, X-RAY, COSMIC OR OTHER IONISING RADIATIONS 9030 1000 Instruments and apparatus for measuring or detecting ionising radiations u 7.5% 90.30 20 00 Oscilloscopes and oscillographs Other....
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.... designed for telecommunications (for example, cross-talk meters, gain measuring instruments, distortion factor meters, psophometers)" under CTI 9030.40.00 On perusal of the terms of sub-heading for the CTI 9030.40.00, it can be noted that the CTI has an exclusionary description which limits to the goods being specially designed for telecommunications and not for any other purposes, including those apparatus which can perform multiple functions in telecommunications and other areas. 2.3.13. The applicant in their application has not provided sufficient evidence to establish that the item is specially designed for telecommunication and they themselves had submitted that and are used in all kinds of wireless communication including radio and cellular communications. 2.3.14. The items have multiple features such as signal generation, signal measuring and signal processing. Therefore, the items appear to be more appropriately covered under corresponding "Other instruments and apparatus", and appears rightly classifiable under CTI 9030.89.90. 2.3.15. In light of the above, the subject goods appear to be rightly classifiable under CTI 9030.89.9024. 2.4. With reference to the ....
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....up to 64 M sample ARB Generator 4Gbyte Avionics ILS, VDR, MB Generator, VoIP vi. From the submission, it is observed that the item incorporates a signal generator and the same is submitted by the applicant as ARB generator as key specifications, and the item is capable of digital signal processing and advanced computing. vii. Based on the above submissions, the items appear to cover under the CTH 9030 which corresponds to "Other Instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities. For the ease of reference, relevant portions of the CTH are produced below: 9030 OSCILLOSCOPES, SPECTRUM ANALYSERS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING OR CHECKING ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES, EXCLUDING METERS OF HEADING 9028; INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING OR DETECTING ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, X-RAY, COSMIC OR OTHER IONISING RADIATIONS 9030 10 00 Instruments and apparatus for measuring or detecting ionising radiations u 7.5% 90.30 20 00 Oscilloscopes and oscillographs u 7.5% - Other instruments and apparatus, for measuring or checking voltage, current, resistance or "power other than tho....
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....perusal of the terms of sub-heading for the CTI 9030.40.00, it can be noted that the CTI has an exclusionary description which limits to the goods being specially designed for telecommunications and not for any other purposes, including those apparatus which can perform multiple functions in telecommunications and other areas. x. The applicant in their application has not provided sufficient evidence to establish that the item is specially designed for telecommunication and they themselves had submitted that and are used in all kinds of wireless communication including radio and cellular communications. xi. The items have multiple features such as signal generation, signal measuring and signal processing. Therefore, the items appear to be more appropriately covered under corresponding "Other instruments and apparatus", and appears rightly classifiable under CTI 9030.89.90. 2.4.3. In light of the above, the subject goods appear to be rightly classifiable under CTI 9030 89 90. 2.5. With reference to the aforementioned application No-89/2025 for the subject advance ruling, the port comments are as under: 2.5.1. Eligibility in terms of Section 28E(c) of the C....
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....s, distortion factor meters, psophometers) The description of goods under CTI 90304000 specifically mentions the word "specially designed". The CTI is an exclusionary description which limits to the goods being specially designed for telecommunications. 2.5.8. As the goods have multiple features such as signal generation, signal measuring and signal processing it appears rightly classifiable under CTH 903089 under CTI 90308990. Further the applicant has not provided sufficient evidence to establish that the item is specially designed for telecommunication. The applicant has only stated it as one of use of the device. In addition, the importer themselves had self-declared the item under 90308990 in previous import made by them for the same goods under Bill of Entry 7362136 dated 16.08.2023. 2.6. With reference to the aforementioned application No-90/2025 for the subject advance ruling, the port comments are as under. 2.6.1. The PVT360A Vector Tester is a single-box solution designed for testing base stations, small cells, and RF components. Its key features include: 1. Frequency range: 400 MHz to 8 GHz 2. Independent signal generators and analyzers: Ena....
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....e base station meets the required specifications, standards, and regulatory requirements. Some common aspects of base station testing include verifying the base station's radio frequency (RF) performance, including transmit power, receive sensitivity, and frequency accuracy, testing the base station's compliance with specific communication protocols, such as 4G LTE or 5G NR, ensuring that the base station can interoperate with different network elements, devices, and systems, evaluating the base station's performance under various conditions, such as high traffic, interference, or extreme temperatures and verifying the base station's security features and ensuring that it meets the required security standards. 2.6.10. The goal of base station testing is to ensure that the base station operates reliably, efficiently, and securely, providing high-quality communication services to users. Small cell testing refers to the process of verifying and validating the performance, functionality, and reliability of small cells, which are low-power, short-range wireless base stations used to provide cellular coverage and capacity in specific areas. Small cells are typically us....
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....0 and 90308990. The duty rates of the said two CTHs are as below: 90304000 BCD Nil + IGST 18% 90308990 BCD 7.5% + IGST 18% 2.6.19. The device PVT 360A Performance Vector Testers is an instrument or apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities. The device's primary function and characteristics do not align with the specific descriptions in other tariff items under Heading 90.30, such as oscilloscopes or spectrum analyzers. Therefore, it appears that the device is an "other apparatus for measuring and checking electrical quantities" that doesn't fit into the more specific categories listed under Heading 90.30. 2.6.20. Given the PVT 360A's specific design for telecommunications testing, including base stations and small cells, and its advanced features for signal generation and analysis, one might argue that it could fit more specifically under CTH 9030 40 00 as "instruments and apparatus, specially designed for telecommunications". 2.6.21. Given the device's characteristics and functions, classification under CTH 9030 89 90 appears justified due to the following reasons: 1. The device is not limited to telecommunications but ....
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....ties not specifically covered under other categories. However, the Applicant submits that the Ld. Assistant Commissioner has incorrectly understood the features of the equipment in question. 4.3. The Applicant submits that the equipment is specially tailored for "telecommunication purposes" only. Reliance in this regard is placed on Product Brochure submitted by the Applicant. i. Base Station testing- PVT 360A provides measurement capabilities to test the physical layer of base stations. According to Ministry of Telecommunications "base stations send and receive low powered radio signals to and from mobile phones and provide connection to the main telephone network" (Page No 107). It is worth noting that Base station itself is an apparatus used in the telecom industry. Reliance is placed on CC, Air Cargo, Chennai VII vs Reliance Jio Infocomm, 2024 (387) E.L.T. 646 (S.C.) (Page Nos 113 to 125), wherein Antenna for base station is classified by the Hon'ble Tribunal as "parts of telecommunication apparatus" under erstwhile CTI 85177090. ii. Small cell testing- Small cell itself is a cellular base station. The term is defined in the Committee Report No TEC 8100....
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.... Execution Steps Peak Downlink throughput 1. 5G gNB/5Gi base station and UE are up and running 2. Maximum achievable DL/UL data rate measured in the field environment, with only one UE in the cell under test, positioned in the ideal radio conditions and no other UEs placed in the surrounding cells. Peak rate test should be executed in stationary scenario. The UE under test is attached to the cell 3. TSP can choose location as per most suitable for maximum throughput 4. Identify a location(s) where highest data rate in the DL can be attained with stability. 5. Start DL data transfer and measure it using app/ from network KPI. 6. The UE receives data with DL throughput. Also record the corresponding resources (bandwidth) assigned to the user from the network logs. 7. Instantaneous peak throughput during the course of the data session will be termed as "Peak Throughput" 8. If massive MIMO is deployed, relevant number of UEs to maximise the cell throughput to be deployed at different locations and the UE_DL_Throughput_1+ UE_DL_Throughput_2........+ UE_DL_Throughput_x. Spectral Efficiency Divide the peak user throughput (from point 7 or 8) by....
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....ore, the classification of PVT 360A Performance Vector Tester under CTI 90304000 is appropriate in terms of GIR Rule 1. 4.13. The Applicant in this regard submits the Tax Invoices pertaining to supply of PVT 360A Performance Vector Tester to M/s Sanmina SCI India Pvt Ltd and M/s Tejas Networks Ltd. 4.14. Further, the Applicant submits that PVT 360A Performance Vector Tester the has the following application. Instrument model Application Area PVT360A Performance Vector Tester Base Station testing in Production line 4.15. Therefore, in light of the aforementioned submissions, the Applicant submits that the PVT360A Performance Vector Tester shall merit classification under CTI 9030 40 00 as "instruments specifically designed for telecommunications. 5. Discussions, Findings and Conclusion 5.1 Having examined the CAAR-1 application, the comments received from the jurisdictional Customs Commissionerate, the record of personal hearing held on 04.09.2025, and the applicable legal framework, I find the application to be valid in terms of the Customs Act, 1962 and the CAAR Regulations, 2021. I, therefore, allow the application and proceed to determine the classific....
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....o the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, reads as under: Other instruments and apparatus, for measuring or checking voltage, current, resistance or power (other than those for measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices): 9030 31 00 -- Multimeter's without a recording device 9030 32 00 -- Multimeter's with a recording device 9030 33 -- Other, without a recording device : 9030 33 10 --- Ammeters, volt meters and watt meters 9030 33 20 --- Spectrum resistance meters 9030 33 30 --- Capacitance meter 9030 33 40 -- Frequency measuring apparatus 9030 33 50 Megar meters 9030 33 90 -- Other 9030 39 00 -- Other, with a recording device 9030 40 00 - Other instruments and apparatus, specially designed for telecommunications (for example, cross-talk meters, gain measuring instruments, distortion factor meters, psophometers) - Other instruments and apparatus : 9030 82 00 -- For measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices (including integrated circuits) 9030 84 00 -- Other, with a recording device 9030 8....
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....eters, echo meters, distortion factor meters). I find that the list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Therefore, consistent with the structure of 9030 40 00, instruments "specially designed for telecommunications" qualify even if they are not named verbatim in the exemplars, provided their design/configuration is directed to telecom applications. 5.8. For ascertaining the true meaning of "specially designed" as mentioned in the tariff entry product has to be examined in this case in light of design, configuration, standard-specific features, and principal applications. I have also noted that telecom network elements (e.g., base-station antennas and parts) have been recognised as telecom apparatus/parts under Chapter 85 in appropriate contexts; while not determinative of heading 9030, this supports the characterisation of base-station infrastructure and its dedicated test ecosystem as "telecommunications". Base Station testing-PVT 360A provides measurement capabilities to test the physical layer of base stations. As per Ministry of Telecommunications "base stations" send and receive low powered radio signals to and from mobile phones and provide connection to the main telephone ne....
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....prevails over a residuary description. The Supreme Court has consistently held that classification under a residuary entry should be the matter of last resort and cannot be adopted where a specific entry covers the goods (as ruled in case of Hindustan Poles Corporation v. CCE [2006 (196) ELT 400 (SC)]; CCE v. Pioneer Scientific Glass Works [2001 (131) ELT 498 (Tri .- Mum)]; Champdany Industries Ltd. [2009 (241) ELT 481 (SC)]. I find that though these cases concern different headings, the ratio of the judgements is applicable in the present case as the product fits the specific tariff text, recourse to "other" is impermissible. 5.11. I have also examined the department's observation regarding past self-assessment under 9030 89 90. I find that it is settled legal principle that there is no estoppel in taxation matter and prior self-classification is not binding where the statutory test and the technical record establish the classification under a particular heading. Hence, I hold that classification should be decided on merit only and not on the basis of past practice. 5.12. I have also examined the department's argument regarding "general-purpose" of product. The argum....