Per S.S. Sekhon :

The appellants imported the following goods:-

1. Spray Gun

2. Cloth Cutting Machine

3. Thread Cutter

4. Pins

5. Needles

6. Foot Massager

2. They are the traders and imported these goods in the belief that they are freely importable under EXIM Policy 1992-97. They sought clearance of the same without producing any Import Licence.

3. Relying on the definition of consumer goods and on examination of the goods, and as the importer produced licence No. 3035246/205/94 with TRA issued from Air Cargo Complex, Bangalore for the import of 3500 boxes Plastic pins for tags & for the other goods i.e., 500 spray guns, 10 Pcs Cloth cutting machines, 500 boxes S.S. Pins, 1500 Doz. thread cutters, 525 boxes needles and 1 foot massager they did not produce any import licence. These items were considered to require an import licence and were liable to confiscation under Section 111 (d) of the Customs Act, as they were considered to be consumer items in terms of Para 156A of EXIM Policy 1992-97 issued under Section 5 of Foreign Trade (D & R) Act, 1962. The Commissioner (Appeals) after hearing the party found as under:-

"A perusal of the catalogues produced by importers reveals that the goods imported satisfy human needs without further processing. As they are in the nature of consumer goods, the goods can be imported under a valid import licence only. As no licence was produced, the goods are liable to confiscation as indicated above. Further, the importer is not an actual user but a trader. The importer is also liable to penal action under Section 112 of the Customs Act, 1962 as the goods are liable for confiscation under Section 111 (d) of the Customs Act 1962."

And thereafter ordered the confiscation of the offending goods under Section 111 (d) of the Customs Act, 62 read with para 156A of the EXIM Policy 1992-97 issued under Section 5 of Foreign Trade (D & R) Act, 62 and allowed the importer to redeem the same on a fine of Rs. 45,000/- under Section 125 of Customs Act, 62 and imposed a penalty of Rs. 15,000/- under Section 112 of the Customs Act, 1962.

4. The Commissioner (Appeals) has after recording the items under import to be:-

1. Spray gun; used for removing dirt and stains from garments

2. Cloth cutting machine; used for uniformly cutting a big lot of fabric at a time

3. Stainless steel pins; used in fastening shirt folds, used exclusively by reputed shirt manufacturers

4. Plastic pins; used to hold the price tag by garment manufacturers

5. Thread cutter; used to trim excess threads

6. Needles; used in sewing machines

7. Foot massager; designed for foot reflexology used by doctors for foot pain treatment.

has found after examining the meaning of consumer goods for the purposes of Import policy to mean "consumption goods which can directly satisfy the human needs without further processing; it would include consumer durables also (Imp. Exp. Policy 1988-91). He also found that the Tribunal in the case of Southern General Trading Co. Vs. Collector, 1995 (6) RLT 489 (CEGAT)=1995 (77) ELT 592 (T) held that consumer goods mean any consumption goods which can directly satisfy human needs without further processing and includes consumer durables and accessories and components, parts and spares of such consumer durables. He also found that the Tribunal had further held that there is no force in the contention that goods capable of ingestion by human beings are those goods which can be split in SKD or CKD conditions can only be considered as consumer goods. Applying the same test to each one of the goods under import, he concluded that they undoubtedly satisfy human needs without further processing. He did not agree with the appellants contention that consumer goods would be only such goods which are used by the ultimate consumer directly. He found that the description of consumer goods was with regard to the nature of the goods and not with regard to the user. He found that the appellants were not manufacturers engag