No Stainless steel Coils is Considered as ‘Mill Edged coils’ or Extrapolate same to Past Consignments without any Evidences based on Examination Report of Live consignment: CESTAT [Read Order]

The Bangalore bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that no stainless steel coils were considered as mill-edged coils or extrapolated the same to the past consignments without evidence based on examination report of live consignment. 

Vivek Metals, the appellant assessee was a proprietary concern engaged in the trading of imported and indigenously procured stainless steel products and filed a bill of entry for the import of cold rolled stainless steel coils grade 430 of thickness 0.3mm /0.6mm /0.7mm x 1260mm width from Taiwan. 

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) for confirming the demand of the anti-dumping duty and for imposing of penalty under sections 112 and 114AA of the Customs Act,1962, and for the confiscation of goods under section 111(m) of Customs Act. 

B. N. Gururaj, the counsel for the assessee contended that the consignments cleared earlier, there was no evidence to prove that the coils were mill edged, and during the period of dispute there was no onsite post-clearance audit which was conducted as per Section 17(6) of the Customs Act and therefore, the Revenue cannot assume that the goods were identical to the present consignment. 

Rajiv Kumar Agrawal, the counsel for the department relied on the decisions made by the lower authorities and contended that the assessee was not liable for the demand which was raised by the revenue. 

The Bench observed that in the case of the Commissioner of Customs (Prev.), New Delhi Versus Marks Marketing P. Ltd, the court held that Any classification had to be decided either by examination/testing of the goods, by expert opinions, or by producing incriminating documents such as invoices and letters or mail to prove that what they had imported was an item other than what is declared in these incriminating documents and without any such pieces of evidence based on the examination report of a live consignment cannot extrapolate the same to the past consignments.  The two-member bench comprising D M Misra (Judicial) and Bhagya Devi (Technical) held that the anti-dumping demand raised for the past consignments was not as per the law and was liable to be quashed

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