Amol

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (L) NO. 13340 OF 2025

Apple India Pvt Ltd ] A Company incorporated under ] the laws of India, having its registered ] office at 13th Floor, Prestige Minsk ] Square, Municipal No. 6, ] Cubbon Road, Bangalore, ]

Karnataka – 560001 ] …Petitioner

Versus

1. Customs Authority for Advance Rulings, ]

New Customs House, Ballard Estate, ] Mumbai – 00 001 ]

2. Additional Commissioner of Customs, ]

Adjudication Cell, ACC, Mumbai ] Zone-III, Mumbai – 400 099 ]

3. Union of India, ]

Ministry of Finance, Department ] of Revenue through the Secretary ] (Revenue) North Block, ]

New Delhi 110 001. ]…Respondents

______________________________________________________

Mr Rohan Shah, Senior Advocate, with Ms Vidhushi

Maheshwari, Ms Chandni Tanna & Mr Prathamesh

AMOL

PREMNATH Chavan, i/b, India Law Alliance, for the Petitioner.

JADHAV

Digitally signed by

AMOL PREMNATH Ms Maya Majumdar, with Ms Niyati Mankad (thr. VC), & Ms

JADHAV

Date: 2025.09.20

______________________________________________________

CORAM M.S. Sonak &

Advait M. Sethna, JJ.

DATED: 16 September 2025 ORAL JUDGMENT:- (Per M. S. Sonak, J)

1. Heard Mr Rohan Shah with Ms Vidhushi Maheshwari, Ms Chandni Tanna & Mr Prathamesh Chavan for the Petitioner and Ms Maya Majumdar for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2.

2. Rule. The Rule is made returnable immediately at the request of and with the consent of learned Counsel for the parties.

3. Even otherwise, by our order of 21 July 2025, we had directed that this matter would be disposed of finally at the admission stage.

4. The Petitioner, by instituting this Petition, questions the following orders: -

(i) The order dated 10 March 2025 at Exhibit ‘A’, [to the extent it concerns Apple Watch Bands alone], by which the Customs Authority for Advanced Ruling (CAAR) declined to entertain or rule upon the Petitioners’ Renewal Application dated 14 November 2024 seeking a renewal of the Advance Ruling dated 18 March 2016 classifying their Apple Watch Bands under CTH 8517 7090.

(ii) Adjudication order dated 25 March 2025 issued by the Additional Commissioner of Customs, Adjudication Cell, Air Cargo Complex - Adjudication Officer (R2) disposing of the Show Cause Notice dated 27 December 2024 concerning the period 1 April 2021 to 22 December 2021.

5. The above challenges arise in the following facts and circumstances: -

(a) By Advance Ruling dated 18 March 2016, read with corrigendum dated 6 April 2016 (Exhibit ‘H’), the CAAR ruled that the Apple Watch Bands imported by the Petitioner merited classification under CTH 8517 7090;

(b) The Petitioner has pleaded that the above ruling was after comments were received from the Commissioner of Customs (Import) Mumbai, stating that the Apple Watch Bands were classifiable under CTH 8517 7090. Such comments are contained in the letter dated 28 October 2015 (Exhibit ‘E’);

(c) Until 30 March 2022, there was no fixed time limit during which the Advance Ruling was valid and binding. However, w.e.f. 30 March 2022, the law was amended so that an Advance Ruling is considered valid and binding only for a period of 3 years. Consequently, there is now no dispute that the Advance Ruling of 2016 remains valid and binding until

30 March 2025.

(d) Accordingly, by Renewal Application dated 14 November 2024 filed on 18 November 2024 (Exhibit ‘I’), the Petitioner applied for renewal of the 2016 Advance Ruling;

(e) On 28 November 2024, the CAAR sought comments from the Jurisdictional Customs Officers;

(f) On 27 December 2024, the 2^nd Respondent issued a show cause notice of the same date seeking to re-classify the non-leather Apple Watch Bands imported by the Petitioner during the period 01 April 2021 to 22 December 2021 under CTH 9113 2010 in place of the earlier classification of CTH

8517 7090;

(g) On 8 January 2025, the Petitioner filed additional submissions before CAAR contending that the show cause notice dated 27 December 2024 ought not to impact the proceedings before the CAAR, gi