MODERN MALLEABLES LTD. Vs. CCE, CALCUTTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant manufactured various goods including Conductor Accessories and Miscellaneous Fittings, P.G. Clamps, Repair Sleeves and about sixty other items. The appellant claims that all these items are used as Accessories/Fittings in electrical transmission lines. It is therefore contended that the products are rightfully classifiable under Tariff Entry 85.48 which provides for "electrical parts of machinery or apparatus not specified or included elsewhere in this Chapter". The Chapter in question is Chapter 85. Chapter 85 falls within Section XVI of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). The Heading of the Chapter reads as:

(2.) IN the show cause notice the reason given by the ACCE for the challenge to the existing classification was on the principle that the products would have to be classified according to their constituent material. Since the various products were manufactured either by iron ore or aluminium, they were properly classifiable under the three sub -headings noted above. The classification list was accordingly approved with this amendment. Being aggrieved, the appellant approached the collector. The Collector did not interfere with the finding of the ACCE (Collector -Appeals). The matter came up before the Central Excise Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT). The Tribunal also dismissed the appeal. The Tribunal held that the transmission lines basically consist of electricity conducting cable and power for supporting and keeping the cables in position etc. These transmission cables, according to the Tribunal, "cannot be called machinery or apparatus at all".

(3.) BEING aggrieved by the decision of the Tribunal, the appellant has preferred this appeal. Accordingly to the appellant the Tribunal has arrived at its conclusion that transmission cables cannot be called apparatus without any discussions whatsoever. It is stated that if the transmission lines were in fact apparatus, then the products in question would be electrical parts of an apparatus. It is also pointed out to us that articles mentioned in Section XVI were specifically excluded by Section Note 1(f) of Section XV. It may be mentioned that three tariff headings under which the Department seeks to classify the appellant's goods all occur within this particular section. Tariff heading 7326 appears under Chapter 73 which deals with articles of iron or steel. The remaining two articles appear in Chapter 76 which deals with aluminium and articles thereof. Both these chapters fall within Section XV which is headed Base metals and Articles of Base metals. It is contended that unless the respondent and the Tribunal had explicitly found on cogent material that the articles in question were not classifiable under chapter 85 under Tariff heading 85.48, they could not proceed under any of the chapters under Section XV.