CESTAT Upholds Reduction of Demand of Customs Duty for Utilisation of Platinum Sponge as Active Catalyst on ground of Proper Calculation of Duty [Read Order]

The Chennai bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) upheld the reduction of demand of customs duty for utilization of platinum sponge as an active catalyst on the ground of proper calculation of duty by the Commissioner. 

Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd, the respondent-assessee imported catalyst covered by the Bills of Entry includes manufactured by the foreign supplier, by utilizing the retrieved sponge platinum from the ‘spent catalysts’ which were previously exported by the importer to his foreign supplier, for retrieving the platinum sponge material from the spent catalyst and utilizing it also in the manufacture of active catalyst and supplied the same to the importer vide various Bills of Entry. 

The revenue appealed against the order passed by the Commissioner for reducing the Demand of duty and upheld the decision of the original authority of the final assessment order. 

Ananda Lakshmi Ganeshram, the counsel for the department contended that there was a difference in the differential duty which was confirmed in the first assessment order and the subsequent assessment order, and the exact method of valuation and re-quantification of duty amount was not forthcoming from the de novo order passed by adjudicating authority. 

Vishnu Priya, the counsel for the assessee contended that the adjudicating authority had loaded various expenses such as export freight and insurance charges which resulted in the freight attributable to each export getting included in the assessable value and to rectify the anomaly. 

Also stated that in the de novo adjudication order, the adjudicating authority had correctly excluded the export freight and insurance charges to arrive at the cost of the material. 

The Bench observed that the international table called the “Johnson Matthey Platinum table” was adopted by the adjudicating authority to arrive at the value of platinum at the time of export from the foreign country. 

The two-member bench comprising Sulekha Beevi C.S (Judicial) and Vasa Seshagiri Rao (Technical) upheld the decision of the Commissioner for proper calculation of duty while dismissing the appeal filed by the department. 

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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