CESTAT : Grants exemption to ‘Cheeselings’ & ‘Musst Bites’; “Namkeen” doesn’t cover fried items alone

CESTAT holds that “Cheeselings” and “Musst Bites” are eligible for exemption as “Namkeen” under Entry No. 29 of Notification No. 3/2006-CE; Rejects Revenue contention that since these goods are not fried items, they cannot be called as “Namkeen”; Finds that packaging makes it clear that on both products, word “Namkeen” is clearly declared, thus said products in common parlance are bought and sold as “Namkeen” only; Remarks, absent any definition, it cannot be concluded that “Namkeen” covers only fried items and in such a case, principle of common parlance has to be applied; Further, accepts assessee’s plea that even if it is assumed that these goods are not considered as “Namkeen”, they would get covered under “similar edible preparations in ready for consumption form” under said Entry  : Mumbai CESTAT

 

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