CESTAT grants duty exemption on import of power banks

The Delhi bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that duty exemption is applicable for the import of power banks, they being a mobile battery charger.

S.B. Industries, the respondent-assessee is engaged in the manufacture of power bank/ portable mobile charger out of imported components. The department denied concessional rate of duty on import of power banks.

The assessee contended that the ‘power bank’ is primarily used to charge the battery of mobile phone and is different from an accumulator held in the impugned order. It was further submitted that the ‘power bank’ primarily acts as the charger for mobile handsets and hence the respondent is entitled to Exemption Notification No. 12/2012– Cus, which exempts the part or component as classifiable in any chapter for the manufacture of the battery charger of mobile handsets.

On appeal, the first appellate authority also held that the benefit of aforesaid Notification is available to the power bank as the mobile battery charger.

Upholding the first appellate order, the division bench of the CESTAT observed that although the Ministry has issued the clarification to the Respondent regarding the classification of ‘power bank’ as the ‘accumulator’ but the same cannot be treated as a circular issued by the Board as to make it mandatory on the part of the Adjudicating Authority to follow the same.

The Tribunal has said that once it is held that power bank is also a kind of mobile charger, automatically the benefit of the Notification will be available to the respondent. It is on record that in this case, the goods imported are part and input of the power bank.