UNION OF INDIA Vs. ANGLO AF GHAN AGENCIES CIVIL APPEALS NOS 973 TO 975 OF 1967 THE UNION OF INDIA IN ALL THE APPEALS APPELLANT V OM PRAKASH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts which give rise to Appeal No. 885 of l967 are these: The Textile Commissioner published on October 10, 1962, a scheme called the Export Promotion Scheme providing incentives to exporters of woollen goods. The scheme was extended by a Trade Notice dated January 1, 1963 to exports of woollen goods to Afghanistan. Messrs Indo-Afghan Agencies -hereinafter called the respondents- a firm dealing in woollen goods at Amritsar exported to Afghanistan in September, 1963, woollen goods of the f. o. b. value of Rupees 5,03,471.73 nP. The Deputy Director in the office of the Textile Commissioner Bombay issued to the respondents an Import Entitlement Certificate for Rs. 1,99,459 only. Representations made by the respondents to the Deputy Director and to the Union Government that they be granted Import Entitlement Certificate for the full f. o. b value of the goods exported failed to produce any response.

(2.) But in a petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution moved before the High Court of Punjab by the respondents for a writ or an order directing the Union of India, the Textile Commissioner and the Joint Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Bombay, to issue a licence "permitting import of wool-tops, raw wool, wool waste and rags of the value of Rs. 3,04,012.73 np", the orders of the Textile Commissioner and the Central Government were set aside. The High Court held that the Expert Promotion Scheme specifically provided for granting certificates to import materials of the "value equal to 100 per cent of the f. o. b. value of the goods exported", and the respondents were entitled to obtain import licences for an amount equal to 100 per cent of the f. o. b. value, unless it was found on enquiry duly made under Cl. 10 of the Scheme that the respondents had by "over-involving" the goods disentitled themselves to the import licences of the full value: that no such enquiry was made by the Textile Commissioner and that officer merely proceeded upon his "subjective satisfaction" that-the respondents had "over-invoiced" the goods exported: and that the Union Government acted on irrelevant grounds. The Union of India, the Textile Commissioner and the Joint Chief Controller of Imports and Exports have appealed to this Court with certificate granted by the High Court.

(3.) The genesis of the export control scheme may first be noticed. The Imports and Exports (Control) Act 18 of 1947 was enacted on March 24, 1947 with the object of enabling the Central Government to continue to exercise the power to prohibit, restrict or otherwise control imports and exports which had till then been controlled by orders issued in exercise of the powers conferred by R. 84 of the Defence of India Rules, 1939, as extended by the Emergency Provisions (Continuance) Ordinance 20 of 1946. By S. 3 of that Act it was provided.