ALLIED ICD SERVICES LTD Vs. UOI AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This common judgment will dispose of the aforestated four writ petitions filed by different petitioners seeking similar reliefs. Petitioners have prayed for a writ, order or direction to declare levy and collection of cost recovery charges for posting of and work performed by the custom officers and staff at the Inland Container Depots (ICDs)/Container Freight Stations (CFSs)/Air Cargo Complexes (ACCs)/Export Processing Zones (EPZs) of the petitioners at Durgapur, Jodhpur, Sanand and Jaipur respectively, as wholly illegal, unlawful, null and void. The petitioners seek direction that the respondents should refund all the charges collected from them since inception. Another prayer made is for quashing of the demands issued for recovery of cost of custom staff at the rate of 1.85 times the salary of the custom staff posted at the respective ICDs/CFSs/ACCs/EPZs. It is also prayed that the Union of India should frame a policy to appoint and post custom officers at the ICDs/CFSs/ACCs/EPZs of the petitioners on non-cost recovery basis.

(2.) The prayers are predicated primarily on the plea that custom officers are permanent employees of the Union of India and duties performed by the custom officials at the ICDs/CFSs/ACCs/EPZs being sovereign functions, no charge could be recovered by the Union of India from the petitioners. The charge is not backed by any statutory provision.

(3.) Brief facts common to these writ petitions are as follows:-