SPRINT RPG INDIA LIMITED Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether the Customs Authorities or the International Airport Authority of India would be liable to pay the price of imported goods which had been sold on auction by the later, is the question involved in this writ petition .

(2.) The petitioner imported GS software in India. The assessed value of the said software .was Rs. 67 lakhs . A sum of Rs. 711,388.00 was paid by the petitioner by way of Customs Duty. The first respondent however held that the goods were hard disk drives and not software loaded on hard disk drivers whereupon a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner demanding additional duty of Rs.24,00,933.00. The petitioner replied to the said show cause notice. The goods were specified as software in terms of Chapter 8471.93 read with notification No. 59/95 dated 16/03/1995 attracting customs duty @ 25%. Against the said order the petitioner preferred an appeal before the CEGAT which was marked as Appeal No.161/96/92. The' appeal was dismissed by an order dated 14.2.1999. The goods in question, in the meantime, were handed over to International Airport Authority. It appears that said goods were put to auction on 24-4-1998.

(3.) The petitioner in the meanwhile had preferred an appeal to the Supreme Court in terms of Section 130E of the said Act which was marked as Civil Appeal No. 5582/1999. The said appeal was allowed by the Apex Court vide order dated 20-1-2000 holding that the software imported were assessable at the rate of ten percent as per Heading 8.24.