CHANDRA RADIO HOUSE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein, M/s. Chandra Radio House, a partnership firm carrying on business at Agra has challenged the decision of the Union of India passed on 6th December, 1971, rejecting the claim of the petitioner for refund of countervailing duty on the ground that the said claim was time- barred.

(2.) To appreciate the contention urged by Mr. Daljit Singh learned Counsel for the petitioner 1 may notice a few facts. The petitioner imported four cartons of radio parts used in the manufacture of electronic instruments from Japan vide Bill of entry bearing No.1652/112 dated 28th March, 1969. On the said imported goods apart from the prescribed import duty the petitioner was made to pay an additional countervailing duty amounting to Rs. 2509.50. The petitioner's case was that the levy of countervailing duty was without jurisdiction as it was not leviable under the Customs Act, 1962 . The duty was paid on 14th April, 1969. The petitioner filed an application for refund of that duty on 14th December, 1969. A copy of that application is Annexure P/1 to the writ petition. In the first paragraph of that application it was stated, "You have charged excise duty on this consignment of valves from OSAKA, JAPAN @ Rs. 1.50 per valve. Therefore we have to submit that the excise duty is not payable on these valves as they are allowed to be imported to use in making electronic instruments".

(3.) Reference to the excise duty by the petitioner in the said application is to the additional countervailing duty. It is submitted that the additional countervailing duty is leviable on those products when similar products are manufactured in the country and which products are subject to levy of excise duty. This position seems to be correct. At any rate, the Assistant Collector of Customs, Refund Section, respondent No. 4 herein, without going into the question whether countervailing duty was leviable or not, rejected the claim on the ground that it was time- barred. The said order has been annexed as Annexure P/2 and reads as follows :-