FINAL ORDER NO’s. 50857-50859/2026

JUSTICE DILIP GUPTA:

1. Customs Appeal No. 55094 of 2023 has been filed by the Interglobe Aviation Ltd.¹the appellant to assail that portion of the order dated 30.01.2023 passed by the Principal Commissioner of Customs ACC (Import)²the Principal Commissioner that rejects the classification of imported integrated drive generator and starter generator under Customs Tariff Item³CTI 8502 20 90 of the Customs Tariff Act 1975⁴the Tariff Act as also under Customs Tariff Heading⁵CTH 8501 claimed by the appellant during the course of adjudication and holds that the goods deserve to be classified under CTI 8511 50 00 and CTI 8511 40 00 respectively. Accordingly, the demand has been confirmed with interest under section 28AA of the Customs Act. The order also imposes penalty upon the appellant under section 114A of the Customs Act.

2. Customs Appeal No. 54697 of 2023 has been filed by C.G. Logistics Pvt. Ltd.⁶C.G. Logistics to assail that portion of the order dated 30.01.2023 passed by the Principal Commissioner that imposes a penalty upon it under section 117 of the Customs Act.

3. Customs Appeal No. 50050 of 2023 has been filed by the appellant to assail the order dated 23.09.2022 passed by the Principal Commissioner that has rejected the classification of the imported starter generator under CTI 8502 20 90 and also under CTH 8501 claimed by the appellant during the course of adjudication and classifies it under CTI 8511 50 00.

4. The appellant is a scheduled airline operator engaged in the service of passenger and goods carriage by air across various domestic and international destinations. C.G. Logistics is a Customs House Agent duly licensed under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2018 and acted in the capacity of a Customs House Agent for clearance of goods imported by the appellant.

5. To carry out scheduled operations in India, the appellant imported aircrafts and their parts as and when required for repair, maintenance purpose of otherwise. The dispute pertains to classification of ‘integrated drive generator’ and ‘starter generator’ imported by the appellant during the relevant period. The goods were imported by the appellant for its use in conjunction with the turboprop/turbofan engines fitted in the aircraft.

6. The technical overview of the goods, as provided by the appellant are as follows:

Integrated Drive Generator

(i) The integrated drive generator provides primary electrical power to all the aircraft electrical systems and is used in conjunction with turboprop/turbofan engines of the aircraft. It is installed on the engine gearbox pad and incorporates a brushless, three-phase AC generator and a Constant Speed Drive⁷CSD in a single component. CSD is a component used with either aircraft gas turbine or reciprocating engines to drive alternating current⁸AC generators. The speed of the output shaft of the CSD is held constant while the speed of its input shaft varies. The CSD holds the speed of the generator and the frequency of the AC constant as the engine speed varies through its normal operating range;

(ii) The integrated drive generator changes the engine input speed to the constant output speed which, the generator changes to AC. The electrical system of an aircraft comprises of various parts like the integrated drive generator, generator control unit⁹GCU, electrical generation interface unit¹⁰EGIU, relays and contractors. The integrated drive generator provides power to such other components of the electrical system like GCU, EGIU, external relays and contractors. In addition to providing power to other aircraft systems, it also provides power to aircraft lighting system and air conditioning system. By maintaining a constant frequency and voltage output, it ensures that critical aircraft systems receive the necessary required power source.

Description of Starter Generator

(i) In case of turboprop/ turbofan engines, the starter generator is generally attached to the engine ge