Pressure relief valves must be classified under CTI 8481 40 00, as they function primarily as safety devices with no independent application, contrary to their classification under CTI 8409 99 41.

JUSTICE DILIP GUPTA:

Senior India Pvt. Ltd., the appellant has filed this appeal for setting aside that part of the order dated 05.05.2022 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), the Commissioner (Appeals) that upholds the order passed by the assessing authority in respect of the assessment of Bill of Entry No. 2433638 dated 15.03.2019 classifying the Pressure Relief Valves, the goods imported by the appellant under Customs Tariff Item, CTI 8409 99 41.

2. The appellant is engaged in the business of manufacturing common rail and other parts for the fuel injection equipment for diesel engines used in trucks and buses. The appellant imported the goods through a Bill of Entry dated 15.03.2019 and classified the goods under Customs Tariff Heading, CTH 8481 that covers “Taps, Cocks, Valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves”. The eight-digit classification adopted by the appellant was CTI 8481 40 00 as ‘Safety or Relief Valves’. However, the department held a view that the appropriate classification of the goods would be CTI 8409 99 41 as ‘other’ parts of diesel engines for motor vehicles.

3. According to the appellant, the department orally directed re- assessment of the Bills of Entry under CTI 8409 99 41 and though the appellant did not agree with the view of the department but since the goods were required urgently, the appellant filed the Bill of Entry under CTI 8409 99 41 as suggested by the department.

4. According to the appellant, the ‘pressure relief valves’ are used in the common rail fuel injecting system in order to prevent the common rail system from becoming over pressurized. The appellant claims that the pressure relief valves open in order to relieve pressure in the common rail when the pressure threshold increases above the normal operating injection pressures. The appellant further claims that in the common rail fuel injection system, fuel pump transfers the fluids from the tank to the common rail, which is a long metallic pipe. In the common rail, injection pressure is maintained, and fuel is ultimately supplied to the multiple fuel injectors. In normal circumstances, pressure in the common rail is controlled by the pump. However, in the event of system failure like failure of fuel injectors pressure in the common rail can surge. This extra-ordinary pressure is released with the help of pressure relief valve. The pressure relief valve has a soft metallic valve body. It is connected to the end of common rail from one side and connected to the fuel tank from the other side. In the event of surge in pressure in the common rail, the spring inside the pressure relief valve gets actuated and releases the excess pressure from the common rail into the fuel tank. The pressure relief valve is normally in closed position, and it opens only when the pressure in the common rail exceeds the normal parameters. It works on mechanical principles and has no regulating and controlling function.

5. The Commissioner (Appeals) did not accept the contention of the appellant that the goods are classifiable under CTI 8481 40 00 as ‘safety or relief valves’ and held that they are classifiable under CTI 8409 99 41 as ‘parts’ of diesel engines. The relevant findings are reproduced below:

“5.6 The Appellant has also contended that the impugned goods are specifically covered under CTH 8481 which covers valves including pressure- reducing valves, valves for oleohydraulic or pneumatic transmissions, check (non-return) valves and safety or relief valves. The A