No Customs Duty Exemption Available To Battery Fuse Units, CESTAT Dismisses Bharti Airtel's Appeal

The Bangalore bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), while dismissing the appeal filed by Bharti Airtel, held that no customs duty exemption is available to battery fuse units (BFU).The bench of D.M. Misra (Judicial Member) and R. Bhagya Devi (Technical Member) has observed that the BFU is not an integral part of the communication system as claimed by Bharti Airtel. The appellant/assessee imported and cleared battery fuse units (BFU) under Chapter Heading 8529 9090, declaring them as parts of a base transmission station (BTS) for telecom use, and cleared the same by claiming the exemption under Sl. No. 16 of Notification No. 25/2005 Cus, dated March 1, 2005. The original authority classified the items under Chapter Heading 8536, and the benefit of the notification has been denied since the notification extends the benefit only to the goods classified under Chapter Heading 8529090 as part of BTS. The Commissioner (Appeals), based on the technical literature, agreed with the classification under 8536, upheld the order of the original authority, and dismissed the appeal filed by the appellant.The appellant submits that the battery fuse units (BFU) are part of the base transmission station used in telecommunication and, hence, are rightly classifiable under Chapter Heading 8529. The BFU could be seen only in consonance with BTS and is designed with certain specifications exclusively for the purpose of BTS; it is not a general-purpose item. Therefore, it is rightly classifiable under Chapter Heading 8529 and not under Chapter Heading 8536, and accordingly, they are eligible for the benefit of the notification.The department contended that they are rightly classifiable under Chapter Heading 8536, and the authorities below were correct in denying the benefit of the notification.The tribunal noted that the appellant claimed exemption notification for the goods classifying the same under CTH 8529 9090 as 'Parts' of transmission apparatus incorporating reception apparatus. “Since we have held that the goods are 'Automatic Circuit Breakers' rightly classifiable under Chapter Heading 8536, the question of extending the benefit of the notification as 'Parts' of the transmission apparatus does not arise. Hence, we hold that the impugned goods are rightly classifiable under chapter heading 8536, and they are not eligible for the benefit of the above notification,” the CESTAT said.Counsel For Appellant: Shraddha PaneyCounsel For Respondent: K. A. JathinCase Title: M/s. Bharti Airtel Ltd. Versus The Commissioner of CustomsCase No.: Customs Appeal No. 2581 of 2011Click Here To Read The Order

No Customs Duty Exemption Available To Battery Fuse Units, CESTAT Dismisses Bharti Airtel's Appeal

Mariya Paliwala

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