SATELLITE ENGINEERING LTD Vs. COLLECTOR OF C. EX.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants filed claims for refund of duty of Rs. 3,20,590.56, Rs. 1,22,709.60 and Rs. 1,74,404/ -respectively being the duty paid by them on lead glass tubings supplied by M/s. Metal Lamp Caps (I) Ltd., Mysore on the ground that the supplier/manufacturer had wrongly classified the tubings under CET Subheading 7001.90 instead of under CET sub -heading 7008.10 as electric light bulbs, attracting nil rate of duty. The claims were rejected by the Assistant Collector on the ground that the assessee is not eligible to seek refund of duty on the goods as they had discharged the duty liability in accordance with the approved classification list filed by the manufacturer at Mysore. The lower appellate authority has upheld the order of the Assistant Collector holding that it is not open to a purchaser to reopen the assessment finalised in terms of Section 11B (1). Hence these appeals.

(2.) NONE appeared for the appellants in spite of notice, hence we heard the learned DR and perused the records.

(3.) TO understand the issue involved, we can do no better than to reproduce the findings of the Collector (Appeals) which are as under : -