S.B. Sinha, J. - (1.) The validity of an exemption notification bearing No. 11/97-Cus dated 1.3.1997 as amended by notification No. 55/97-Cus dated 13.6.1997 granting exemption to various imported goods including EOT mobile crane required for setting up crude petroleum refinery subject to fulfilment of certain conditions, is in question in this appeal which arises out of judgment and order dated 8.7.2005 passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, West Zonal Bench, Court No. 2.
(2.) The fact that the crane in question was imported for using the same in setting up a refinery is not in dispute. What is in dispute is that whether a crane when placed on a vehicle which the appellant wrongly stated to be a Rs. motor vehicle would fulfill the description of a mobile crane or a Rs. material handling equipment. Valuation of the said crane was also questioned. The fact that different parts of the said crane were imported by the respondent herein as second hand equipment is also not in dispute. It is, however, accepted that the original manufacturers of the two part of the said equipment were different. We may, at the outset, notice that the Notification dated 11.4.1997 was issued by the Central Government, in exercise of its power conferred upon it under Section (1) of Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, being satisfied that it was necessary in the public interest so to do, made further amendment in notification No. 11/97, CUS. dated 1.3.1997, the relevant entry whereof is as under: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 144A 84 or any Goods specified Nil Nil - other in List 8A Chapter required for setting up crude petroleum refinery
(3.) By reason of the amendment, it was, inter alia, provided that in the annexure, for List 8A the goods specified therein shall be substituted, relevant portion of which reads as under: 16. All types of Materials Transporting Equipments, including loading and unloading arms and racks; gantries, dispatch tanks, loading/ transfer pumps, hydraulic systems, weighbridges, Diesel shunters, feed or injenction or spray nozzles, skimmers, soot blowers; with instrumentation and control systems, including load cells and metering stations. ********** 18. All types of Material Handling Equipments, including belt or pneumatic conveyors, ducts, hoists, bucket or jib cranes, (with or without access gangways), pipes and hoses, funnels, hoppers, disenganging lock hoppers; catalyst addition pots, valves and sampler devices; bagging, weighing and bag stitching systems; weigh bridges; buoy systems for crude oil receipt; pipeline end manifolds with valves, tenders, mooring aids, laser docking systems, product tanker loading facilities; with associated equipments, instrumentation and control systems and auxiliaries. ********** 44. Special Maintenance Systems, including hydrojetting tools, pneumatic torque wrenches; EOT/mobile cranes; hoists, grinders, high pressure cleaning systems, induction bending machines; auto welding machines, various welding equipments like girth-welding, vertical flux cord, bottom saw, four side edge preparation, angle rolls; rolling and leveling machines, sky climbers, hot tapping machines, bolt tensioners, high pressure test pumps, tube bundle pullers, tube nippers, ultrasonic leak detectors, machine condition monitoring systems and associated sub-assemblies; vibration analysers and computerized alignments systems.;