S.L. Peeran, Member (J)

1. The appellants are aggrieved with the order issued on 16-4-1990 passed by the learned Collector of Customs (Appeals), Bombay.

2. The appellants have claimed the benefit of the Notification No. 242/76-Cus., in respect of the imported item described in the Bill of Entry as Electric Cast Refractories with Zinconia content 40% and above (Refracting bricks of special shape for use as component parts of Glass furnace). The Assistant Collector has taken a view that as per ISI definition 9.32 IS-4041-1967 "A Regenerator is a periodic heat exchanger which alternatively receives heat from combustion products and gives up heat to incoming air or gas" and, therefore, he has held that the regenerator works is a periodic heat exchanger and as such, does not form an essential part of the Industrial Furnaces where glass is actually melted and the temperature is always higher than 1550°C. He has further held that the Refractory bricks imported are to be used in front wall of the Regenerator where normal temperature would be around 1400°C and hence the benefit under Notification No. 242/76-Cus. would not be available to the item in question. The learned Collector (Appeals) has held as follows :

"I have gone through the written and oral submissions and also the Glossary of Terms relating to Refractory materials as appearing in the Handbook No. IS-4041-1987 by the ISI and the following are the definitions which are relevant for examining the merits of the appeal -

9.30 Port - Furnace opening through which liquid for gaseous fuel or air or both for combustion is introduced.

9.31 Recuperator - A continuous heat exchanger in which heat from combustion products is transferred to incoming air or gas through metal or refractory walls.

9.32 Regenerator - A periodic heat exchanger which alternatively, receives heat from combustion products and gives up heat to incoming air or gas.

9.44 The bottom of a door opening in a furnace.

23.1 Back wall, End wall or Cable wall - The wall at the charging end of tank furnace.

23.2 Bottom - The floor of a tank furnace, including the surface which comes into contact with the glass.

23.11 Crown - The roof of a tank furnace.

In the Customs Tariff Industrial Furnaces are covered under Heading 8417 and in the Explanatory Notes Non-Electrical Industrial Furnace have been defined as those in which heat is produced in chambers at high temperatures by the combustion of fuel either directly in the chamber or in separate combustion chambers. They are used in the heat treatment i.e. by roasting, fusion, calcination, etc. of various kinds of products which may be placed on the fire bed, crucibles etc. ISI Para 23 includes the terms relating to the glass industry and the parts of the furnace have been shown as : (23.7) leading from the refining zone to the drawing chambers.

Conditioning zone (23.8) - The part of a tank furnace for flat glass in which the conditioning of the glass is completed before it passes to the forehearth or drawing chamber.

Doghouse (23.15) - A refractory shape with a slot, depressed below the surface of the glass and used for the upward drawing of sheet glass in the Fourcault process... and which has a small extension of a tank furnace into the batch is fed.

Drawing chamber (23.17) - i.e. from where the sheet is drawn.

Flue line block (23.26) - A block forming part of the upper course of walls of tank furnace, when these are constructed with more than one course.

Fore-Hearth (23.27) - The part of extension of a tank furnace from which glass is taken for forming.

Melting End (23.33) - The part of a tank furnace where melting and refining are carried out.

Refining Zone (23.41) - The part of a tank furnace where the glass becomes largely free from seed and bubbles.

Skimming Block (23.49) - A small extension on the sides of a tank furnace for melting flat glass by means of which surface impurities are removed, usually positioned just before the floaters.

Tank Block (23.54) - A block used in the const