Customs | Knitted Ready-Made Garments Fall Under CTH 6102, 10% Drawback Rate Applicable: CESTAT Kolkata
The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that knitted ready-made garments, such as Gents' shirts, Ladies' dresses, and coats, are classifiable under CTH 6102; hence, the exporters are entitled to a 10% drawback rate subject to a maximum of Rs. 45/- per piece. R. Muralidhar (Judicial Member) and K. Anpazhakan (Technical Member)...
The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that knitted ready-made garments, such as Gents' shirts, Ladies' dresses, and coats, are classifiable under CTH 6102; hence, the exporters are entitled to a 10% drawback rate subject to a maximum of Rs. 45/- per piece.
R. Muralidhar (Judicial Member) and K. Anpazhakan (Technical Member) stated that from the descriptions of the goods as contained in the concerned shipping bills, it can be observed that the said goods, mostly including 'Gents shirts', 'Ladies dress', 'Ladies long coat', 'Ladies blouse', etc., are in the nature of knitted readymade garments, which squarely fall under the CTH 6102 as mentioned in the Public Notice No. 5/1995, which deals with 'ready-made garments'. Under the said entry pertaining to CTH 6102, the drawback rate would be 10% of FOB value subject to a maximum of Rs. 45/- per piece.
The assessee exported readymade garments, and according to them, the goods are eligible for classification under a single Tariff Heading, and the drawback claim is to be fixed accordingly.
The assessee argued that the drawback is to be given by the Customs authorities, and the shipping bill is to be treated as a drawback claim.
However, in the impugned order, the Principal Commissioner classified the goods under various subheadings such as CTHs 6102, 6103, 6104, 6105 and 6106.
The Principal Commissioner has allowed conversion of shipping bills from the Duty Exemption Entitlement Certificate (DEEC) Scheme to the Drawback Scheme and determined an admissible Drawback claim on the basis of the classification of the goods determined by him
It is the case of the assessee that the Department has not conducted any Test on the goods exported by them to ascertain the constituent materials; as per the description of the goods mentioned by them in the shipping bills, all the goods exported were 'ready-made garments' classifiable under the CTH 6102.
The Tribunal found that the Department has not conducted any Test on the goods exported by them to ascertain the constituent materials, as the goods were not originally exported under the claim of drawback. Thus, the classification of the goods exported has to be decided on the basis of the description of the goods mentioned by them in the shipping bills.
The bench noted that the adjudicating authority has not given any specific reasoning to classify the goods exported under different subheadings such as CTHs 6102, 6103, 6104, 6105 and 6106.
The bench stated that the assessee would be eligible for the drawback along with the applicable rate of interest @6%, in respect of the goods exported vide all the 34 shipping bills.
The Tribunal opined that all the goods covered under the shipping bills mentioned at Sl.Nos.1-32, wherein the goods are classified under the CTH 6102, are eligible for drawback as provided in the entry corresponding to the drawback serial number 2704, i.e., the drawback rate would be 10% of FOB value subject to a maximum of Rs. 45/- per piece.
In respect of the remaining two shipping bills mentioned at Sl. Nos. 33 and 34, classified under the CTH 6110, the bench upheld the drawback rate fixed in the impugned order.
In view of the above, the Tribunal allowed the appeal.
Case Title: M/s. Terai Overseas Private Limited v. Commissioner of Customs (Port)
Case Number: Customs Appeal No. 76508 of 2025
Counsel for Appellant/ Assessee: Sudhir Mehta and Sweety Jha
Counsel for Respondent/ Department: Subrata Debnath and Sameer Chitkara