TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 1679
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....so registered under the GST bearing registration no. 33AVCPH8309L1ZJ. The applicant is intending to import the following goods through the above-mentioned ports: a) Oven roasted Areca nuts from Burma, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, b) Oven roasted and salted cashew nuts from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. c) Menthol Scented Sweet Supari from Burma, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand 1.2 The applicant is of the view that the subject goods are classifiable under CTH 2008 19 20, CTH 2008 19 10 and 2106 90 30 respectively. The applicant is intending to claim the benefit of the List 5 of Notification No.26/2000-Cus dated 01.03.2000 and SI. No. 172 of Notification No. 46/2011- Cus dated 01.06.2011 for import of roasted Areca nuts and benefit of the SI. No. 172 of Notification No. 46/2011-Cus dated 01.06.2011 for import of roasted and salted cashew nuts. 1.3 The applicant is of the bonafide belief that the subject goods are rightly classifiable under 2008 19. Therefore, the present application is being filed to ascertain the correct classification for the roasted Areca nuts, under CTH 2008 19 20 and eligibility of the List 5 of Notification No.26/2000-....
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....(S.C.) to submit that the HSN Explanatory Note is the safe and dependable guide in the matters of classification of items. In the case of Collector of Customs, Bombay v. Business Forms Ltd reported 2002 (142) ELT 18 (S.C.), the Hon'ble court held that Explanatory Notes to HSN need to be given due consideration for classifying goods. D. As per the explanatory note to Chapter 8 fruit and nuts of this Chapter remain classified here even if put up in airtight packing (e.g., dried prunes, dried nuts in cans). In most cases, however, products put up in these packing have been prepared or preserved otherwise than as provided for in the headings of this Chapter, and are therefore excluded from chapter 8 (and will fall under Chapter 20). The applicant states that as the processes mentioned in Chapter 8 are different from the processes performed on impugned goods, they are excluded for the purpose of classification from Chapter 8 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. As per the HSN Explanatory Notes to Heading 2008, given below, Dry Roasted Areca (or Betel) Nuts are specifically covered under Chapter Heading 2008. E. As per Note 2 to Chapter 21 of the Customs Tariff Act,1975, "betel nut....
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....e process of roasting is not finding mention anywhere in this Explanatory Note. H. The processes mentioned in Chapter 8 include chilling, steaming, boiling, drying and provisionally preserving. It does not specifically include the process of roasting. Here it is important to understand the difference between the processes of drying and roasting. The terms, however, are not defined in the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Therefore, these terms have to be understood in a commonly accepted sense. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Alladi Venkateswarlu v. Government of Andhra Pradesh reported 1978 AIR 945 held that "the commonly accepted sense of a term should prevail in construing the description of an article of food". In common trade parlance, "drying" is a method of food preservation by the removal of water. On the other hand, "roasting" means the excess or very high heat treatment that produces fundamental chemical and physical changes in the structure and composition of the goods, bringing about a charred physical appearance. Therefore, drying is a moisture removal process involving methods such as dehydration, evaporation, etc., whereas roasting is a severe heat treatment pro....
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....nacted statute then the items in the customs entries should be judged and analysed on the basis of how these expressions are used in the trade or industry or in the market or, in other words, how these are dealt with by the people who deal in them, provided that there is a market for these types of goods". K. Chapter 20 covers the preparation of nuts. One of the processes for preparing the impugned goods is specified in Heading 2008, i.e. roasting. Roasting is the essential process for the preparation of impugned goods. The subject goods under consideration are not excluded by any chapter note or explanatory note from Heading 2008. Therefore, it is evident that the subject goods are classifiable under Heading 2008 based on the terms of the Heading 2008 and Notes to Chapter 20. L. Roasted Areca Nuts Import from Sri Lanka is subject to nil rate of Basic Customs Duty in terms of List 5 of Notification No.26/2000-Cus dated 01.03.2000. The said notification was issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in pursuance of the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA). Roasted Areca Nuts Import from Thailand and Indonesia is eligible to avail the benefit of Sl. No. 172 o....
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....Y 183434 dated 22.07.2002 had held that the product is classifiable under CTH 2008 19 10. MENTHOL SCENTED SWEET SUPARI TO BE IMPORTED FROM BURMA, INDONESIA, SRI LANKA AND THAILAND R. The raw whole. split or ground betel nut (areca nut) provisionally preserved or not, as an agricultural product, is classifiable under CTH 0802. Arecoline is a mild parasympathomimetic stimulant alkaloid found in the areca nut, the fruit of the areca palm. It can bring a sense of enhanced alertness and energy, euphoria and relaxation. Chewing the nut stimulates the flow of saliva to aid digestion. In India there is a huge market of betel nut-based product sweet supari which is a sweet and flavoured preparation of crushed / cut betel nut with menthol, cardamon, sweetener, edible colours and usually packed in air-tight pouches. The product is sold across the retail counters and is used as a mouth freshener. Supplementary Notes, note no. 2 of Chapter 21 of the Customs Tariff reads as under: "In this Chapter "Betel Nut" product known as "SUPARI" means any preparation containing Betel-Nuts, but not containing any one or more of the following ingredients, namely: Lime, Katha (catechu), and tobacco whet....
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....Notification No. 46/2011- Cus dated 01.06.2011 for import of roasted Areca nuts. b) Roasted Cashews is classifiable under CTH 2008 19 10 and eligibility of the SI. No. 172 of Notification No. 46/2011-Cus dated 01.06.2011 for import of roasted and salted cashew nuts. c) Menthol Scented Sweet Supari is classifiable under CTH 2106 90 30 2. In terms of provisions of the Section 28-I (1) of the Customs Act, 1962 read with Sub- Regulation no. (7) of the Regulation no. 8 of the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings Regulations, 2021, on the receipt of the said application, office of the CAAR, Mumbai forwarded copy of the said application/submissions to the concerned Jurisdictional Customs Commissionerate i.e. The Commissioner of Customs (Import), Chennai, Tuticorin and JNCH as submitted by the applicant calling upon them to furnish the relevant records with comments, if any, in respect of said application. Accordingly, the comments were received form the Commissioner of Customs (Import), Chennai and Tuticorin. 2.1 The comments received from the Commissioner of Customs, Custom House, Chennai are as following: 2.1.1 The applicant M/s. Harnath Stock Huts is proposi....
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....l of Entry No. 7391366 dated 21.12.2024 filed by Importer M/s.Trinity Agro Products was handled by this Office in Faceless Assessment, wherein the Virtual Assessment Officers have raised queries regarding the valuation. However, the Importer have not justified the declared unit price with supporting documents. In this connection, the Bill of Entry was pushed to Port of Assessment Group for in-depth scrutiny/investigation of CTH and Valuation as per CVR, 2007. 2.1.6 However, based on a comprehensive analysis of the HS structure, legal notes, and interpretative rules, the appropriate classification for Oven Roasted Cashew Nuts is as follows: SI. No. Product Name Packaging and roasting as detailed above(a) Other than (a) 1 Roasted Cashew Nuts 20081910 08013210 Cashew Kernel Broken 08013290 Cashew Kernel Whole 08013290 Other Cashew Provided the classification of Roasted Cashew Nut under CTI 2008 1910 is based on the packaging conditions i.e., the impugned goods are packed in airtight packs or containers as per food industry and common commercial practice, with proper roasting attested by the CRCL. Further, provided that the Jurisdictional Commissionerate m....
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....ific entry CTI 20081910 Cashew nut, roasted, salted or roasted and salted. Cashew nut kernels are covered under CTI 080132, when they are /aren't moderately heat treated. Thus, the subject goods "Roasted cashew nuts" are rightly classifiable under the specific entry CTI 20081910. Goods classifiable under CTH 200710 to 200820 are eligible for the benefit of duty exemption under SI.No.172 of the Notification No. 46/2011-Cus dated 01.06.2011 as amended. 2.3 The comments received from the Commissioner of Customs, Custom House, JNCH Nhava Sheva are as following: 2.3.1 M/s Harnath Stock Huts, has submitted an application before the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings (CAAR), Mumbai seeking clarification on the correct tariff classification of roasted cashew nuts. 2.3.2 The applicant intends to import these products from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. 2.3.3 The classification of this product is critical as it determines the applicable customs duty and compliance requirements under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The applicant has proposed classifications based on the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), World Customs Organization (WCO) Explanatory Notes, and previous ju....
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....in the application for which the classification under Customs Tariff Act, 1975 is sought, which are as follows: (i) For Roasted Cashew nuts classification is claimed under CTI 20081910. (ii) As regards to classification of Menthol Scented Sweet Supari, classification is sought under CTI 21069030. The learned advocate relied upon the case of M/s AK Impex, upheld by Hon'ble Chennai High Court. (iii) He further submitted that the Roasted Areca nut/ betel nut merits classification under CTI 20081920 and that the CAAR, Mumbai has already decided a number of cases in which same classification is followed and in the case of M/s. Shahnaz & other the ruling is upheld by Hon'ble Chennai High Court. The learned Advocate categorically expressed that the matter of classification of Roasted Arecanuts has already been decided in the referred judgement passed by Hon'ble Madras high court vide its order dated 01.08.2023 in the matter of The Commissioner of Customs, Chennai II Commissionerate Vs M/s Shahnaz Commodities International P. Ltd., M/s. Neena Enterprises and M/s Universal Impex cited supra and this is an identical case. 3.1 The learned advocate ....
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....hen there is a specific entry covering a product/commodity, the test of common parlance is irrelevant in determining classification. (e) There is considerable force in the submission that the classification as far as possible must be in conformity and in consonance with the HSN Explanatory Notes. 5.2 It is pertinent to mention here the relevant excerpts of subsection (2) of section 28-1 of Customs Act, 1962 is produced below: "(2) The Authority may, after examining the application and the records called for, by order either allow or reject the application; Provided that the Authority shall not allow the application where the question raised in the application is,- (a) already pending in the applicant's case before any officer of customs, the Appellate Tribunal or any Court; (b) same as in a matter decided already by the Appellate Tribunal or any Court:" 5.3 This Authority as well as CAAR, Delhi have already issued multiple rulings in a sizeable number of applications intending import of the subject 'Roasted Areca Nuts' through various major/minor ports/Inland container Depots, spread across the country. The all such rul....
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....a sharp change in the moisture level, colour, appearance, flavour etc. when the process of roasting is undertaken. Needless to say that in the market and trade also, Roasted and/or Salted Cashew nuts are a well-known product and in common parlance it is recognised/selled/purchased and understood as roasted cashew nuts roasted or slated itself. The Customs Tariff Act, nowhere defines the process of roasting, but CTI 20081910 specifically covers roasted cashew nuts, roasted, salted or roasted and salted. 8. Further, it is evident from the processes specified in Chapters 7, 8 or 11 which mainly include freezing, steaming, boiling, drying, provisionally preserving and milling, thus, any vegetable, fruit, nut or edible parts of a plant which is prepared or preserved by any "other process" than these are liable to be classified under Chapter 20. Heading 2008 covers Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included. Roasting is a process used for bringing in to existence roasted nuts and the processes mentioned in chapter 8 do not cover roasting p....
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.... otherwise than by any of the processes specified in other Chapters or in the preceding headings of this Chapter. The explanatory notes further explain that this heading inter alia included: Almonds, ground- nuts, areca (or betel) nuts and other nuts, dry- roasted, oil- roasted or fat- roasted, whether or not containing or coated with vegetable oil, salt, flavours, spices or other additives. 14. Further, the Importer have proposed for availing Country Of Origin benefit under Notification No. 46/2011-Cus and Notification No. 26/2000-Cus dated 01.03.2000. 14.1 I observe here that the preferential BCD under Notification No. 46/2011-Cus, is subject to the importer proving to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, that the goods in respect of which the benefit of this exemption is claimed are of the origin of the countries as mentioned in Appendix I or Appendix II of the said Notification, in accordance with provisions of the Customs Tariff Determination of Origin of Goods under the Preferential Trade Agreement between the Governments of Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (A....