Em Pee Syndichem Pvt. Ltd. vs Union Of India & Anr.
2012 Latest Caselaw 810 Del

*               IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+                      Writ Petition(Civil) No. 3985/2011
                                        Reserved on: 29th November, 2011
%                                    Date of Decision: 7th February, 2012

EM PEE SYNDICHEM PVT. LTD.                  ....Petitioner
                Through    Mr. K. Kumar & Mr. P.K. Mittal, Advs.
                       Versus

UNION OF INDIA & ANR.                               ...Respondents
                Through          Mr. Jatan Singh, Advocate for UOI.
                                 Ms. Sonia Sharma, Advocates for R-2.

CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R.V. EASWAR

SANJIV KHANNA, J.

The petitioner EMPEE Syndichem Pvt. Ltd., on 24th

June,2005 had deposited Customs duty of Rs.1,52,251/- with the

Commissioner of Customs, I.G. Airport, in respect of a consignment of

industrial synthetic diamond powder imported from Ireland vide 5

invoices and on bill of entry No. 969856 dated 23rd June, 2005. The

petitioner has placed on record the said bill of entry for home

consumption in which the description of aforesaid goods stands stated

and the name of the supplier/exporter was described as "Element Fix

Ltd., Ireland". On 24th June, 2005, it was noticed that the goods

imported did not tally and match the goods mentioned in the bill of

entry and the invoices. The name of the importer mentioned on the

packaging was "Element Fix Limited, Taiwan", whereas the petitioner

was the importer.

2. The petitioner got in touch with the exporter Element Fix Limited,

Ireland and came to know that due to the fault and negligence of the

consolidator, the petitioner's consignment had been sent to Taiwan and

the consignment that was meant for Element Fix Ltd., Taiwan had been

sent to India instead. The petitioner accordingly wrote a letter to the

Commissioner of Customs dated 30th June, 2005, stating that they were

not at fault and that the matter had been enquired into by the supplier

who had confirmed the mistake. The correspondence exchanged with

the supplier was enclosed with this letter. For the purpose of clarity

and to put the record straight, there is no allegation and it is not the

contention of the respondents that the petitioner was involved or had

any hand or was responsible for the wrong goods being shipped to

India. The respondents have not challenged or questioned the

intention, nor have they stated that the conduct of the petitioner

lacked bonafides or was questionable.

3. By letter dated 30th June, 2005, the petitioner asked for

permission from the authorities to re-export the consignment.

4. After about 22 months, the Commissioner of Customs, granted

permission for re-export of the consignment on 1st May, 2007, and that

too after imposition of penalty of Rs.10,000/-. Accordingly, the goods

were entered for re-export on 27th June, 2007.

5. The petitioner claimed refund or drawback of Rs.1,49,207/- being

98% of the customs duty of Rs.1,52,251/- paid by them. On being

denied the refund, as facts stated below exposit, it has approached this

Court by way of the present writ petition.

6. The Assistant Commissioner of Customs by letter dated 31st

January, 2008 raised objections to the refund, on the ground that the

re-export had been made beyond two years. The petitioner replied and

answered the objections stating that the delay was occasioned because

of lapses and the time taken by the Custom authorities to grant

permission for re-export. Prayer for condonation of delay was also

made vide letter dated 12th March, 2008. The Assistant Commissioner

of Customs (Drawback) vide letter dated 15th March, 2008, informed

the petitioner that it was beyond his competence to condone the delay

and the letter dated 31st January, 2008, might be treated as an

appealable order.

7. After receipt of this letter, the petitioner took two steps. Firstly,

on 14th May 2008, a representation/application was made to the

Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC, for short) for extension of

time for re-export beyond two years under proviso to Section 74 of the

Customs Act, 1962 (Act, for short) and secondly, filed an appeal before

the Commissioner (Appeals) against the order dated 15th March, 2008.

8. The Commissioner (Appeals) vide his letter dated 17th December,

2008, rejected the appeal on the ground that the goods were not

entered for re-export within two years from the date of payment of

customs duty. The CBEC/Chief Commissioner had not extended the

time. Accordingly, the claim under Section 74 of the Act was barred by

time. He further held that the appeal was barred by time by 58 days as

the order passed by the Assistant Commissioner was dated 31st January,

2008. It may be noticed here that vide letter dated 15th March, 2008,

the petitioner was informed, for the first time, that the order dated 31st

January, 2008, should be treated as appealable order. In fact, the so-

called order dated 31st January, 2008, is a letter written by the Assistant

Commissioner in his own handwriting to the petitioner. In the said

letter it was not stated that this was an order rejecting the claim and it

should be treated as an appealable order. Thus, the finding of the

Commissioner (Appeals) that the appeal was barred by time is clearly

wrong and contrary to law.

9. The application for extension of time filed by the petitioner with

CBEC on 14th May, 2008, remained pending till 23rd October, 2008. By

letter 23rd October, 2008, Technical Officer (DBK), CBEC wrote to the

Chief Commissioner of Customs, Delhi Zone, stating that the application

for condonation of delay filed by the petitioner should be decided by

him in view of the powers conferred on the Chief Commissioner to

condone delay of upto 12 months, beyond the prescribed period of 2

years. The Chief Commissioner of Customs was requested to consider

the case expeditiously. The petitioner thereafter wrote letters dated 1st

December, 2008 and 10th December, 2008, for consideration of their

claim for extension of time for re-export beyond two years. On 15th

December, 2008, the Chief Commissioner of Customs, Delhi Zone,

passed an order rejecting the request for extension of time on the

ground that Section 74 of the Act was not applicable and, therefore,

extension of time under the proviso to Section 74 cannot be granted.

The reasoning portion of the order passed by the Chief Commissioner

of Customs, reads as under:-

"Under Section 74 of the Customs Act, 1962 drawback of the duty paid on the goods which have been imported into India is allowable subject to export of the goods. Goods in the facts and circumstances of the case can be said to have been imported into India only if they had been incorporated in and mixed up with the mass of the goods in the country, which though is not the situation in the present case. The goods in this case were left with Customs custody from where they were exported. The goods never came out of the Customs control. The goods were not given 'Out of Charge' and were not cleared. It is apparent from the above that the goods were never delivered to the importer. Re-export of the goods vis-à-vis drawback claim only arises when the goods have been taken release of the Customs control. Thus the present case being of duty paid on goods but not delivered, is not

of drawback under Section 74 of the Customs Act, 1962. Reference in this regard is made to Hon'ble Tribunal decisions in the case of Tata Consulting Services Vs. Collector of Customs (1990(49) ELT565 (Tribunal) and Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata (2004(172)ELT411(Tri.-Kolkata). In the circumstances, when it is not a case of drawback no occasion arises for the Chief Commissioner for exercise of power under proviso to Section 74 (1) (iii) (b) of the Customs Act, 1962."

(emphasis supplied)

10. Thus after about a year, the respondents Revenue completely

changed their stand. Earlier, the stand was that there was delay

beyond two years and, therefore, refund of duty/drawback under

Section 74 cannot be granted without extension of time by CBEC/ Chief

Commissioner. The aforesaid stand and position was reiterated by the

Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) in the order dated 17th December,

2008. However, the Chief Commissioner of Customs in his order dated

15th December, 2008, has held that Section 74 of the Act was not

applicable as the goods in question were left in the custody of Customs

and were never "out of charge" and thus, were not cleared for home

consumption. The goods, according to him, were not imported into

India and did not get mixed up with the mass of the goods in the

country and therefore section 74 was not applicable.

11. Faced with the aforesaid position, the petitioner had no option

but to file the present writ petition inter-alia with the following prayers:

"(i) Quash the Department's letter dated 15.12.2008 being unlawful.

(ii) To Sanction the drawback claim for Rs.1,49,207/-

(iii) To Sanction the refund of Rs.10,000/- imposed as penalty contrary to law:

(iv) To award interest to the Petitioner on the drawback amount of Rs.1,49,207/- from the date of claim till the date of payment.

(v) To award cost for the suffering, legal expenses and harassment faced by the Petitioner.

(vi) Any other order or orders or reliefs as this Hon'ble Court deem fit and proper, under the circumstances of the whole case, may kindly be allowed."

12. The facts narrated above, speak for themselves and elucidate the

harassment suffered by the petitioner. The respondents have been

taking different stands as is clear from letters dated 31st January, 2008,

17th December, 2008 and the order dated 15th December, 2008. It is

rightly pointed out by the petitioner that in case goods had not been

imported into the country then there is no question of assessment,

demand and payment customs duty. Thus, Rs.1,52,251/- deposited by

the petitioner with the respondents should be refunded.

13. In the counter affidavit filed before us and during the course of

arguments, it was contended that Section 74 of the Act is not applicable

as the goods had not been cleared for home consumption and were in

custody of the Customs. Reliance is placed on decision of the Supreme

Court in the case of Garden Silk Mills Ltd.& Anr. Vs. Union of India and

Ors., 1999 (113) ELT 358 SC. Secondly, it is submitted that the delay in

re-export was on account of the fault of the petitioner as they failed to

submit the No Objection Certificate (NOC, for short) from the Reserve

Bank of India which was mandated and required for re-export as per

CBEC Circular No. 100/2003-Cus dated 28th November, 2003 and

Standing Order No. 2/2001 dated 7th March, 2001.

14. The first contention fails to notice that if the petitioner's case

was/is not covered by Section 74, then the duty paid has to be

refunded. Respondents however rely upon Section 27 of the Act and

submit that the claim for refund is barred by limitation.

15. There are a number of reasons why in the present case, the said

plea should not be accepted. For Section 27 of the Act to apply, it is

mandatory that duty should have been paid by the petitioner in

pursuance to an order of assessment. No assessment order has been

placed on record. Further, where duty has been paid pursuant to an

assessment order, the payer can move an application for refund of such

duty and interest within the stipulated time. However, the application

must be accompanied with documents and other evidence to establish

that the amount of duty and interest, if any paid, was refundable. It

appears that the petitioner had filed the bill of entry and deposited the

custom duty on the basis of the bill of lading. However, when the goods

were physically examined by the customs authorities, it was found that

goods did not tally with the details mentioned on the bill of entry and it

was recorded by the authorities as under:-

"As per Bill of Entry and Invoices description of the goods does not tally with the goods found in the pkg. The name of the Importer found on the packages is Element Fix Ltd., Taiwan whereas the name of the importer in the Bill of Entry and invoices is Em Pee Syndichem Ltd., New Delhi.

S.A may like to see the goods."

16. Immediately, thereafter on 30th June, 2005, the petitioner

applied to the Commissioner of Customs to re-export the goods. As

noticed below, the custom authorities took their own time to grant

permission to re-export and their conduct has been adversely

commented upon. The permission for re-export was granted on 1st

May, 2007, though the request was made on 30th June, 2005.

Accordingly, the goods were entered for re-export on 22nd June, 2007

and on the same day request for payment of refund of duty of

Rs.1,52,252 @ 98% being Rs.1,48,207/- was made. The second proviso

to Section 27(1) of the Act stipulates that limitation period of one year

or six months will not apply where duty and interest have been paid

under protest. Under the fourth proviso to Section 27, if refund

becomes payable consequent upon a judgment, decree, order or

direction of an appellate authority, one year/six months have to be

computed from the date of the judgment, decree, order or direction. In

the present case, it was only after the order of re-export was made and

the goods were re-exported, that the petitioner could have asked for

refund. Prayer for re-export was made immediately. The application for

refund made on 22nd June, 2007 cannot be read in isolation and has to

be read along with the facts and conduct of the parties. As noticed, the

consignment was physically inspected on 24th June, 2005 and it was

found that the goods imported did not match and tally with the

description of the goods mentioned in the bill of entry/invoices. On 30th

June, 2005, the petitioner had filed an application for re-export of

goods. These steps were taken in furtherance of and to enable the

petitioner to claim refund of the duty paid. The petitioner and

respondents had proceeded and assumed that till the goods were re-

exported, duty paid cannot be refunded. Time limits under Section 27

have been incorporated to ensure that no belated or stale claims for

refund are made as it may not be possible to verify and re-examine the

facts. The administration should not be put to inconvenience. In the

present case, the lapses and default have been on the part of the

Respondents.

17. Even if it is assumed that there was an order of assessment, the

same was required to be rectified under Section 154 of the Act, once it

was found that the goods mentioned in the bills of entry were different

from the goods shipped. The present case would be covered under

Section 154 of the Act as it is a case of errors arising out of incidental

slip or omission. The respondents should not have computed the duty

and passed an order without inspecting the goods and noticing that the

goods were not meant for importer and were different from the goods

mentioned in the bill of entry/invoice. This was apparent from the

description on the package itself. The goods or the packages were never

inspected by the customs authorities before 24th June, 2006. Had the

goods been inspected by the custom authorities before asking the

petitioner to deposit the duty, the error or mistake would not have

been occurred.

18. Section 18 of the Act deals with refund of duty provisionally paid

subject to final assessment. In such cases, it is the obligation and duty

of the respondents to suo moto or on their own refund the duty paid

provisionally subject to final assessment (See decision dated 9th

January, 2012 by this Bench in Commission of Customs versus Indian

Oil Corporation, CUSAA No. 43/2011 in, which reference is made to

Mafatlal Industries Ltd. versus Union of India (1997) 5 SCC 536, CCE,

Chennai versus TVS Suzuki Ltd. (2003) 156 ELT 161 (SC) and CCE versus

Allied Photographic India Ltd. (2004) 4 SCC 34)

19. In the case of Garden Silk Ltd. (supra), the question which had

arisen and was decided by the Supreme Court related to computation

of import value and whether landing charges, when and after the goods

have been discharged from the ship, could be added. In this context,

Sections 12, 14 and 15 of the Act were interpreted. It was held that

Section 14 is a deeming provision and the legislative intent is clear that

the actual price of the imported goods would include the landing costs.

While examining the said contention, the Supreme Court held that the

taxable event is reached at the time when the goods reach the customs

barrier and the bill of entry for home consumption is filed. The goods

are imported into India when they enter the territorial waters as per

Section 12 of the Act, but it continues and the import is complete when

the goods become part of the mass of goods of the country. The

Supreme Court noticed their earlier decisions in Union of India and Ors.

vs. Apar Industries Pvt. Ltd. & Ors., 1999 (112) ELT 3 (SC); Bharat

Surfactants (Pvt.) Ltd. vs. UOI, 1989 (43) ELT 189 (SC); and Dhiraj Lal H.

Vohra vs. UOI, 1993(66) ELT 551 (SC). In the said decisions, it has been

held that import of goods is complete under Section 12, the moment

the goods enter the territorial waters. Accordingly customs duty is not

payable, if no duty was payable when the goods had entered the

territorial waters but was imposed thereafter.

20. The aforesaid decision merely shows that there can be

considerable debate as to when Section 74 would apply and when

Section 27/18 would be applicable. In such cases, it would be desirable

that a holistic and a pragmatic approach is adopted rather than a

technical approach. It would be appropriate to reproduce the following

paragraph from decision dated 3rd June 2011 in Indgalonal Investments

& Finance Ltd. versus CIT (W.P. (C) No. 7127/2008) which reads:-

"12. Another principle is that the refund provisions should be interpreted in a reasonable and practical manner and when warranted liberally in favour of the assessee. If there is substantial compliance of the provisions for refund, it may not be denied because it is not made strictly in the form or the prescribed manner. The forms prescribed may be merely intended to facilitate payment of refund. The tax authorities have to act judiciously when they exercise their power under an enactment. The power given to the tax authorities under the enactments are mandated with the duty to exercise them when the statutory provisions so warrant. It is imperative upon them to exercise their authority in an appropriate manner. In case the Assessing Officer or tax authority comes to know that an assessee is entitled to deduction, relief or refund on the facts of the case and the assessee has omitted to make the claim, he should draw the attention of the assessee. The tax authorities should act as facilitators and not occlude and obstruct. The role of tax authorities has been aptly described in CIT versus Rajesh Jhaveri Stock Brokers Pvt. Ltd. (2008) 14 SCC 208 as :-

"19............ The function of the assessing officer is to administer the statute with solicitude for the public exchequer with an inbuilt idea of fairness to taxpayers."

21. The second contention is also without merit. The circular No.

100/2003-CUS dated 28th November, 2003, reads as under:-

"I am directed to refer to the instructions contained in Board's letter F-No.18/1/59-Cus.(CRC), dated 08.06.1959

on the above mentioned subject wherein it was stated that the importer intends to re-export the same, the Commissioner may use his discretion and release the goods on payment of a nominal penalty or without any penalty as he deems fit, provided that he is satisfied that the goods have been imported as a result of bona fide mistake and contrary to the Importer's instructions subject to production of a "no objection certificate" from the Reserve Bank of India for re-shipment of the goods. In this regard, trade has expressed difficulties in obtaining the "NOC" from RBI and stated that, at times, it takes a minimum of one week to obtain the certificate. Therefore, they have requested for allowing re-shipment without insisting on the production of "NOC" from RBI.

The matter has been examined in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India who have opined that the "NOC" from RBI need not be insisted from re-export of such imported items. Therefore, the Commissioner may use his discretion and allow re-export without the requirement of a "No Objection Certificate" from the Reserve Bank of India, on payment of a nominal penalty or without any penalty as he deems fit, provided that he is satisfied that the goods have been imported as a result of bona fide mistake and contrary to the importer's instructions.

Kindly bring the above instructions to the knowledge of all concerned for strict compliance."

22. In the present case, the petitioner has placed on record the office

notings from 12th September, 2005 till 21st October, 2006. The petitioner

had obtained an NOC from the Centurian Bank dated 19th October, 2005.

In the said certificate, it was mentioned that the petitioner had not paid

for the imported consignment, subject matter of the request for re-

exported. The said NOC issued by the Centurian Bank was filed with the

respondents. In the office noting, it was recorded that no payment

relating to the bill of entry dated 23rd June, 2005, had been made.

Accordingly, the file was put for approval of re-export. In the office noting

it has been recorded that "NOC from RBI (was) required" signed dated 9th

November, 2005. It is further recorded that "discussed NOC (was)

required" signed dated 21st October, 2006. The aforesaid file notings are

contrary to Circular No. 100/2003-CUS dated 28th November, 2003, which

has been quoted above. In the said circular, it has been stated that a

number of importers were facing difficulties because of the requirement

of furnishing of the NOC from the RBI for re-shipment. Accordingly the

matter was examined in consultation with the RBI who had opined that

the certificate from RBI need not be insisted. The petitioner has also

drawn our attention to a number of letters written by him to the RBI to

furnish the NOC in view of the demand by the respondents, but there was

no response. Ultimately, the Centurian Bank again intimated that no

payment had been made to the Element Fix Ltd., Ireland and enclosed

with the letter of RBI "denying" the NOC. Thus, the NOC was never

furnished and was not required to be furnished. The contradictory stand

of the respondents is apparent as after this letter, the Commissioner, I&G

on 1st May, 2007, allowed re-export but imposed penalty of Rs.10,000/-

for not furnishing NOC from the RBI. No reason or justification for

imposition of the penalty was stated. This order was passed on the

administrative side and was not communicated to the petitioner till vide

letter dated 24th December, 2008. The relevant portion of the order as

recorded in the letter dated 24th December, 2008, reads as under:-

"Let re-export be allowed as per procedure in view of the facts stated on payment of a penalty of Rs.10,000."

23. This order was passed without hearing the petitioner and does

not state and justify any reason why a penalty of Rs.10,000/- has been

imposed. The circular quoted above gives discretion to the authorities

to judiciously and in a fair manner decide whether or not to impose

penalty/fine. The order passed shows complete arbitrariness and lack

of objectivity. The question of bonafide mistake and whether the

import was contrary to the petitioner's order was not given due

weightage as required vide circular No. 100/2003-CUS dated 28th

November, 2003. The order of penalty, therefore, has to be quashed.

Plea of alternate remedy raised by the respondents in the facts of the

case has to be rejected. The petitioner has been made to go through

several proceedings, furnish NOC, etc. Facts are not in dispute and the

lapse and faults of the respondents are apparent.

24. We may now briefly deal with the other contentions of the

respondents raised in the counter affidavit stating that the writ petition

should not be considered in view of the alternative remedy by way of

revision available to the petitioner against the order dated 17th

December, 2008 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals). The

petitioner could not have filed appeal against the said order in view of

the rejection of its request for extension of time under Section 74 of the

Act by order dated 15th December, 2008 passed by the Chief

Commissioner of Customs, Delhi Zone. Filing of appeal would have

been a futile exercise. In these circumstances, we do not think that the

writ petition should be dismissed on the ground of so-called "alternate

remedy". Until and unless the order dated 15th December, 2008, was

set aside, the petitioner could not have succeeded in an appeal/revision

before the Joint Secretary under Sections 128 and 129 of the Act. The

said contention has to be rejected.

25. Another contention raised by the respondents in the counter

affidavit is that before re-export goods had not been identified as only

sealed verification was done. It is further stated that original

documents were not submitted and only photocopies thereof were

submitted, and some documents were not even filed. These are again

technical objections without any substance. Goods remained in the

custody of the customs and had been inspected on 24th June, 2005. The

respondent Revenue cannot contend that they were not aware of the

description of the goods, the subject matter of the request for re-

export, as the goods had remained in the custody of the respondents

after the said inspection. With regard to non-submission of originals or

documents, the petitioner could have been asked to submit the same

before rejection. Nothing has been brought on record to show and

establish that any request was made to the petitioner or regarding

petitioner's failure to respond.

26. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we allow the writ petition and

quash order dated 15th December, 2008, passed by the Chief

Commissioner of Customs, Delhi Zone. The penalty imposed of

Rs.10,000/- is also quashed. The respondents will refund Rs.1,49,207/-

along with interest @ 10% per annum w.e.f. 1st January, 2008 till

payment is made. The respondents will also pay costs of the present

proceedings which are assessed at Rs.10,000/-. The aforesaid

payments will be made by a crossed account payee cheque, which is to

be sent by registered post to the petitioner within two months from the

date a copy of this order is received by the respondents.

(SANJIV KHANNA) JUDGE

(R.V. EASWAR ) JUDGE February 7, 2012 kkb