MOHAMMED FARIZ & CO. Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in both these writ petitions are persons, who have imported consignments of betel nuts and presented the same for clearance through customs, by filing the necessary bills of entry. In the bills of entry filed by the petitioners, they claimed the benefit of concessional rate of duty, as applicable to imports from Sri lanka under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA). In the case of the petitioner in W.P. (C) No. 7105 of 2015, the bill of entry was assessed, by accepting the contentions of the petitioner with regard to concessional rate of duty, and it is understood that the petitioner has also paid the assessed duty to the customs authorities. In the case of the petitioner in W.P. (C) No. 7117 of 2015, the bill of entry though presented, the assessment has not been completed although the goods have been examined by the customs authorities.

(2.) The facts in both these writ petitions would disclose that, the respondent customs authorities entertained certain doubts with regard to the genuineness of the documents, that accompanied the consignment, which were produced to show that the goods were of Srilankan origin, and were entitled to the benefit of the concessional rate of duty. It is pointed out by the learned standing counsel for the respondents that, there is an enquiry currently under way in connection with certain other imports of betel nuts, and hence, pending finalization of the said proceedings, the petitioner should also be permitted to clear the imported goods only on furnishing a portion of the differential duty that would be attracted to the imports effected by him, if the benefit of concessional rate of duty is not extended to the said imports.

(3.) In fact, in both these writ petitions, the petitioners have been served with communications (Ext. P6 in W.P. (C) No. 7117 of 2015 and Ext. P7 in W.P. (C) No. 7105 of 2015), which demand a portion of the differential duty that would be payable by the petitioners if the benefit of concessional rate is not extended to them, as a condition for the clearance of the goods through Customs. In the writ petitions, it is these communications that have been impugned.