Classification of goods: CBIC comes to the aid of auto component industry

There is some relief for the auto component industry with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) clarifying the classification of goods on the basis of Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN) codes.

The industry had been worried after the Supreme Court dismissed a review petition filed by the finance ministry over the issue. The case originally related to excise duty, but it also has implications for customs duty and the goods and services tax (GST).

Original case

The original case related to the classification of relays used in railways. In HSN codes, exclusions are sometimes given in some chapters. For instance,