LexINDIAN HARD METALS (P) LTD. versus UNION OF INDIA
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- . ."' INDIAN HARD METALS (P) LTD. V. UNION OF INDIA November 30, 1978 [R. S. SARKARIA, V. D. TuLzAPURKAR AND A. P. SEN, JJ.] 469 Indian Customs Tariff Act, 1934 (32 of 1934), Item Nos. 26, 70(7) and 87-Wolfram ore containing tungsten ore of 75%-Whether assessable under Item 26 or Item 70(7) or under residuary lte1n 87. The appellant imported wolfram ore. The Customs Authorities classified the said ore under the residuary Item 87 of the Indian Customs Tariff and charged :luty at the, rate of 60% ad valorem. Metallic ores (Item 26) and cobalt, cbro~ mium, tungsten magnesium etc. [Item No. 70(7)1 are allowed to be imported free of duty. The aforesaid classification was upheld by the Assistant Collector of Customs and the appeal to the Commissioner of Customs was dismissed. The appellant's revision petition under s. 131 of the Customs Act to the Government was also A B c dismissed. D In the appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appellant that the imported ore contained a concentrate of 74% of tungsten from wolfram and the rest were impurities, that the concentration was the result of •selective mining' process which involves crushing, washing and magnetic separation that in better quality ore the content may be as high as 79 % and that even after being subjected to such process, the ore concentrate does not cea,,e to be tungs- E ten 'ore' within the contemplation of Item 70(7) of the Indian Customs Tariff. Allowing the appeal, HELD: 1. The goods imported had to be classified as imported ore, falling either under Item 26 or Item 70(7) of the Import Tariff, and no duty was leviable on them. The appellants are entitled to refund of duty paid by them. !475 El F 2. The mere fact that the percentage of tungsten in the ore concentrate in the instant case is about 75% does not take the case out of the ratio of this Court's decision in Minerals & Metal Trading Corporation of India Ltd. v. Union of India & Qrs., [1973] I SCR 977. [471 HJ 3. There is ample authority for the view that the tungsten content in the wolfram ore of marketable quality may vary from 60 to 79%, and a concentra- tion within these limits of the metal in the ore can bo attained simply by a process of a "selective mining", that is by physical process not involving any chemical change in the metal. Wolframite of ordinary merchantable quality con- tains 60 to 70% of tungsten, while wolframite ore of better commercial quality contains 75 to 79% of the metal. [473 C, 475 DJ "Tungsten" by C.J. Smithe/ls Chapman-Hall-Introduction, referred to. 4. The finding of the appellate Collector of Customs that such a high dogree (75%) of the tungsten metal virll1ally free from impurities in the material, could be atlain<d only by some chemical manufacturing process and not merely lty G II 470 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1979] 2 S.C.R. A cru!hing, washing or magnetic separation, is not based on any evidence whatever. It is contrary to the opinion of experts and authorities on the subject, which were brought on tbe record. [475 BJ CIYIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 571 of 1969. B Appeal by Special Leave from the Order dated. the 6th September, c 1968 /26th October 1968 of the Government of India, Ministry of Finance (llipartment of Revenue and Insurance) bearing No. 5262 of 1968. !. L. Nain, Mrs. A. K. Verma for J. D. Dadachanji & Co., for the Appellant. R. B. Datar and Miss A. Subhashini, for the Respondent. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SARKAru:A, J.-This is an appeal by special leave against \m order of the Government of India, Ministry of Finance (Department of o Revenue and Insurance). The order was passed by Shri B. Sen, Commissioner (Revision applications), Government of India. Indian Hard Metal (P) Ltd., the appellant, had imported 15 metric tonnes of wolfram ore from London. • The Customs authorities classified the said ore under item 87 of the Indian Customs Tariff and charged duty at the rate of 60 per centi ad valorem amounting to E Rs. 62,871.03P., instead of classifying the imported ore either under item 26 of item 70(7) which are free from duty. These relevant items, as entered in tlle Imported Tariff, may be set out as nuder Item No. F 26 700) G 87 Name of Article Nature of Standard duty rate of Metallic ores all sorts except ochres and x Free x other pigments ores and antimony ore. Cobalt chromium tungsten magnesium x
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