It shows three ebony guitar fingerboard products with these measurements:
1. 500 x 70/60 x 9.0 mm
2. 530 x 70/60 x 9.0 mm
3. 700 x 70/60 x 9.0 mm
The photo of the product is this:
You'll see that it has the slots already cut for frets. That, to me, is a finished product.
The product that was shipped to the USA with Luthier Mercantile as the importer was rough-cut blanks of ebony in the following dimensions, with no slots for frets:
1. 510-530 x 75/70 x 10mm
2. 510-530 x 72/62 x 10mm
Gibson admits that it was going to finish the surface and edges of the blanks to size. Gibson has outstanding technology called a Plek machine that cuts its grooves for frets on the fingerboards.
I've said that I don't think the government's position is workable. However, these were not finished products. Atheena sent rough cut blanks instead of its finished product and filled out export paperwork for a finished product.
The importer, LMI, took paperwork that identified these blanks coded as "9902" and described as 'finished parts for a musical instrument" under the Harmonized System established by the World Customs Organization, and changed the code to "4408" and the description to "VENEER SHEET <=6MM OTH, OT" on the import form. 4407 would have been "chipped, split, or cut wood >6MM" and would have been illegal to export from India.
LMI knew these were not finished parts for a musical instrument, or else why would they change the code from 9902 and go to the trouble of changing the description?
There's plenty to argue about regarding the raid - but these were not finished parts for a musical instrument.
And you'll note that nothing I said implicated Gibson in any way in changing codes, falsely describing the contents upon import, or falsely describing the contents upon export. Nor in putting the name of a false consignee on the papers.
But this was a shady import deal.