Export Consignments which is Less than 70% of Iron Content cannot be considered as ‘Iron Oxides’: CESTAT [Read Order]

The Ahmedabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that the export consignments that were less than 70% of iron content could not be considered iron oxides. 

Lexus Paints And Coating, the appellant assessee had filed two Shipping Bills for the export of Iron Oxide to Saudi Arabia and classified their export product under Tariff Item and the time of the clearance of the export consignment, representative samples were drawn from the export consignment sent to Kandla for determining the nature of the export product, and to determine whether the export consignment pertains to Iron Oxide or “Iron Ore” classifiable under Customs Tariff Heading. 

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the original authority for the misdeclaration of the export consignment and demanded a customs duty of 30%. 

Ved Prakash Batra, the counsel for the assessee contended that the remnant sample has been put for re-test and wherein the samples were found to be of Iron Oxide of 97.84%, hold without any ambiguity that the subject consignment pertains to ‘Iron Oxide’. 

Sanjay Kumar, the counsel for the department relied on the decisions made by the lower authorities and contended that the export products of the assessee were not iron oxide and the mis-declaration was done by the assessee. 

The Bench observed that the export consignments are made of Iron Oxide and that charges of mis-declaration of the description of subject consignments were not established and held that the iron content was less than 70% cannot be considered as, Iron Oxides and hydroxide, Earth colors. 

The two-member bench comprising Somesh Arora (Judicial) and C.L Mahar (Technical) quashed the demand of duty while allowing the appeal filed by the assessee. 

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