MEGA FLEX PLASTICS LTD. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned advocates appearing for the parties. By this writ petition petitioner has challenged the legality of the impugned order dtd. 25/10/2018 passed by the West Bengal Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling and has prayed for two-fold relief, firstly, for declaring the impugned circular no. 80/54/2018-GST dtd. 31/12/2018, issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance being Annexure - P-9 to the Writ Petition as unconstitutional and secondly, for setting aside the impugned order dtd. 25/10/2018, passed by the West Bengal Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling.

(2.) Main issue involves in the instant writ petition relates to a classification disputes of the product in question and refusal by the authority concerned to consider the petitioner's prayer for allowing it to change the classification of Tariff head of its same product under the Central Excise Tariff Act after introduction of the GST Act, 2017.

(3.) Facts involve in brief in the instant case as appears from relevant records are as hereunder: Petitioner is a manufacturer of Polypropylene Leno Bags by weaving polypropylene strips (tapes). Polypropylene is a variety of plastic. The major raw material in manufacture of PP Leno Bags is plastic granules. Petitioner, before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, had voluntarily declared its finished product under the Chapter Heading 3923 29 90 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and enjoyed the Duty Drawback. No cogent reason has been shown by the petitioner as to why and how the Tariff Heading of the same product having same composition and involving same process of manufacturing sought to be changed from classification 3923 29 90 to 6305 33 00 except that rate of tax on the same product under the same tariff heading is higher under newly GST regime.