PER R. MURALIDHAR

The appellant KEC International Ltd. have imported Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) Fiber Optic Cable during period 16/6/2016 to 11/6/2021 classifying the same under Customs Tariff Heading 8544 70 90. After taking up certain investigations, a Show Cause Notice came to be issued on 11/06/2021 alleging that the product would get classified under CTH 9001 00 00. Accordingly, the differential duty of Rs. 2,38,07,593/- was demanded along with interest and penalty. A Show Cause Notice was also issued to the DGM Taxation and the Senior Manger Taxation seeking to know as to why penalty should not imposed on them. The appellants filed their detailed reply stating that they have been classifying the goods under CTH 8544 70 90 right from 2012 onwards. Their earlier consignment was duly tested by Electronics Regional Test Laboratory (EAST) and Test Report was issued by them on 10/01/2014. Based on this Test Report, the Department accepted the classification as CTH 85447090 vide their letter dated 18/06/2015. In the case of the subsequent imports during the period 16/06/2016 to 11/06/2021 also the same goods were imported and hence they had correctly classified the goods under CTH 85