In Brief
Essilor India imported power lenses classified by customs authorities as "semi-finished spectacle lenses" and denied exemption from duty under a 2006 excise notification that applied only to "finished spectacle lenses." The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that lenses requiring customization (fitting to individual prescriptions) remain "spectacle lenses" entitled to exemption. The Court reasoned that the 2005 tariff re-alignment from 6-digit to 8-digit headings involved only technical changes to numbering, not substantive tariff changes, and therefore the appellant's prior exemption status continued unchanged. The lenses were properly described as "to-be-finished spectacle lenses," not "semi-finished," and thus fell within the exemption notification's scope.
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