TATA IRON AND STEEL COMPANY LIMITED Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE AND CUSTOMS BHUBANESWAR ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Tata and Steel Company Ltd. (TISCO, for short), the appellant before us, has imported certain equipments and drawings and engineering documents from Siderugia National of Portugal - a Government of Portugal Undertaking. It appears that some time in the year 1981 Italimpianti, Genevo, Italy supplied materials, designs and engineering drawings etc. to Siderugia National Portugal (hereinafter SNP, for short) for setting up rolling mill project in Portugal. The supplies consisted of equipments for blast furnace, LD converter, steel plant bellet castors, wire rod mills, torpedo ladle cars etc. However, before the equipments could be installed, Portugal decided to join European Economic Community (EEC) consequent whereupon Portugal could not have expanded its steel making capacity. SNP decided to cancel its investment plan and to sell the equipments and materials which were lying unused from 1981 to 1986. On 14th April, 1988 a protocol was singned between the seller and purchaser companies (i.e. SNP and TISCO) which inter alia stated that the total price will be price for the equipment plus price for the engineering FOB Portugal-Lisbon port. The price for the equipment with suitable sea-worthy packing to be provided by SNP will be 13.5 million Deutsche Marks (DM) and the price for engineering will be 12.5 million Deutsche Marks. The protocol also provided that the equipment was being sold without any operation on performance guarantees and in "as is where is" condition. Subsequently on 11th October, 1989 three contracts were entered into between the parties as under:-

(2.) The appellant sought for registration of its contract MD 302 under Project Imports Regulations, 1986 with the Customs House, Paradeep which was allowed entitling it to avail the benefit of concessional rate of duty for project imports.

(3.) The consignment consisting of technical documents, engineerings etc. covered by contract MD 301 arrived at Calcutta and was cleared by Calcutta Customs House in the months of April-May, 1990. The consignment was claimed by the appellant to be classifiable under sub-Heading No. 4906.00 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1985 assessable to nil duty.