2026-VIL-1675-CESTAT-CHE-CU
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CUSTOMS CESTAT Cases

Customs - Classification of imported surgical instruments as 'Orthopaedic Instruments' under CTH 9018 or 'Orthopaedic Appliances' under CTH 9021 - Assessee imported items including a power console/handpiece driver, motorized handpiece and footswitch used in arthroscopic and spinal surgery, declaring them as 'Orthopaedic Appliances' under CTH 90211100 and availing 'Nil' Basic Customs Duty under Notification No.50/2017-Customs - Department, on scrutiny of supplier's catalogues and noting that identical goods had earlier been classified under CTH 9018, reclassified the goods under CTH 9018 and confirmed differential duty - Whether the imported goods, being surgical tools used by doctors during surgery, are classifiable as 'Orthopaedic Instruments' under CTH 9018 or as 'Orthopaedic Appliances' under CTH 9021 - HELD - Chapter Note 6 to Chapter 90 defines 'orthopaedic appliances' for the purpose of Heading 9021 as appliances for preventing or correcting bodily deformities, or for supporting or holding parts of the body following an illness, operation or injury, and a conjoint reading of Heading 9021 with Chapter Note 6 shows that Tariff Item 90211000 covers goods actually used by patients suffering from orthopaedic disease or illness, which are implanted or strapped to their body - 'Orthopaedic Instruments' are different from 'Orthopaedic Appliances', instruments being those used during surgery or operation by surgeons, as covered by the preamble to the HSN Explanatory Notes to Heading 9018 - The Assessee did not dispute its own earlier declaration of the very same items under CTH 9018 in prior imports and offered no appreciable explanation for the change in classification - The goods, verified against the sellers' website, are surgical tools/instruments used by doctors or health professionals during surgery and are not implanted or strapped to the body, and CTH 9021 does not cover such surgical tools or instruments - The Assessee has not made any attempt to dislodge the reasoning of the adjudicating authority or to justify its claim of classification under CTH 9021 - The goods are classifiable as 'Orthopaedic Instruments' under CTH 9018 - The appeal filed by the Assessee against reclassification is dismissed - Eligibility of surgical instruments used in spinal surgery for exemption from Basic Customs Duty as goods for the disabled under Notification No.50/2017-Customs, Serial No.578 read with List 30 - Whether goods classifiable as 'spinal instruments', though not 'appliances' for the disabled, are covered by the entry at Serial No.E(9) of List 30 to Notification No.50/2017-Customs for the period prior to its amendment - HELD - Serial No.578 of Notification No.50/2017-Customs, as applicable during the disputed period, covers "Assistive devices, rehabilitation aids and other goods for disabled, specified in List 30", and Serial No.E(9) of List 30, prior to its amendment by Notification No.1/2020-Customs, expressly covered "Instruments and implants for severely physically handicapped patients and joints replacement and spinal instruments and implants including bone cement" - The goods in question, being specifically designed as surgical tools used in various spinal surgeries, are 'spinal instruments' falling within the express language of the unamended entry, and the Adjudicating Authority correctly extended the benefit of the Notification for the period from 16.07.2018 to 12.12.2019 - This issue is decided against the Revenue - Eligibility of the same surgical instruments for IGST exemption under Notification No.01/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate), Serial No.257 read with List 3, for the period during which they were eligible for the parallel Customs Notification benefit - Whether the Assessee was correctly extended the benefit of IGST exemption on the ground that the entry at Serial No.E(9) of List 3 is identical to Serial No.E(9) of List 30 of Notification No.50/2017-Customs - HELD - The entry at Serial No.E(9) of List 3 of Schedule-I of Notification No.01/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) is identical to Serial No.E(9) of List 30 of Notification No.50/2017-Customs, and since the goods imported during the period 16.07.2018 to 12.12.2019 were held eligible for the benefit of the Customs Notification, there is no difficulty in extending the benefit of the identical IGST Notification entry for the same period - Since no corresponding amendment restricting the scope of Entry E(9) was made to List 3, unlike the amendment made to List 30 with effect from 02.02.2020, the items continue to enjoy the benefit of classification under Schedule-I for the entire period of the Notification - No case is made out for interference with the order of the Principal Commissioner, and this issue is also decided against the Revenue - The appeal filed by the Revenue is rejected.
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