The Bombay High Court ordered re consideration on classification of Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP) under Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (CETA).
The primary issue between the Appellants, Prime Bond Industries and the Revenue is on the interpretation of Heading 7606 and Heading 7610. While the appellants have argued that the appropriate classification of ACP is under Heading 7606, the Tribunal has accepted the arguments of the Revenue holding the ACP to be under Heading 7610.
While the Appellants have argued that the products that they have sold are aluminium plates, sheets of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm and therefore to be classified under the Heading 7606, the Revenue argued that these are either parts of structures or prepared for use in structures considering the technical manual and the scope of application mentioned therein and would fall under the Heading 7610.
The Counsel for the appellant argued in detail that ACP is neither prepared for use in structure nor is ultimately used in structures and that in the present case ACP is manufactured and cleared in sheet form of standard sizes, specifications from its factory without undertaking any process on it such as drilling, bending, notching etc. Further, after clearing ACP from its factory various other processes are performed on the ACP by the customers.
Heading 7610 covers (i) structures, (ii) parts of structures and (iii) aluminium plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures. The last part of the expression “aluminium plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like” do not cover “aluminium sheets”.
The Glossary of Terms relating to aluminium and aluminium alloys, published by the Bureau of Indian Standards defines a Plate as 6 mm or thicker and a “Sheet” as between 0.15 mm and 6 mm which also suggests that Heading 7610 only includes “plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like” which are capable of bearing a load, and not “sheets” which are not load bearing. It is submitted that ACP Sheets are expressly mentioned in Heading 7606 and cannot be brought into Heading 7610 by using the phrase “and the like”.
The Bench comprising Justices Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Abhay Ahuja directed the Tribunal to pass a fresh order after considering and dealing with all the factual submissions made on behalf of the Appellants as well as the Respondent Revenue and particularly a finding on whether or not the aluminium composite panel as used in the context of the business of the Appellants would simply be aluminium plates or strips of a thickness exceeding 0.2 mm or aluminium plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures or parts of structures. All questions and contentions are left open.
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