REGIONAL INSTITUTE OF Vs. CC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) REGIONAL Institute of Opthalmology and Eye Hospital Trust, Sitapur, imported following equipments in terms of Notification No. 64/88 -Cus dated 1.3.88 without payment of Customs duty in terms of Customs Duty Exemption Certificate (hereinafter referred as CDEC) issued by the Director General of Health Services (hereinafter referred as DGHS):

(2.) IT was argued before us for the appellants that CDEC was cancelled on the report of ROSHA Committee and they were not given any opportunity to present their case before ROSHA Committee. Statutory limit for demand of duty in terms of Section 28 is only up to 5 years, and hence, duty cannot be demanded under Section 28 of the Customs Act. There was no material before the adjudicating authority that DGHS made in depth verification regarding various conditions said to be not fulfilled by the appellants in terms of notification No. 64/88 -Cus. Free treatment to 40% Out Door patients per year was not required under the notification. They have submitted the figures before the adjudicating authority which shows that they have given free treatment to more than 40% of Out Door patients. Reliance is placed by the appellants on the following cases:

(3.) AN affidavit was also filed on behalf of the appellants that Regional Institute of Opthalmology and Eye Hospital Trust working on no profit or no loss basis and is a public trust. The record of pertaining to OPD patients and Indoor patients is reflected in the registers and they submitted the figure of OPD and Indoor patients treated absolutely free from 1988 to 2005. When the appellants were asked that the figures filed by them are totally different from the figures submitted by them to DGHS, it was pointed out that in the figures supplied to DGHS they had given the figures of Regional Institute of Opthalmology and Eye Hospital Trust whereas at present in the affidavit they have given the figure of Regional Institute and other hospital and Sitapur Eye Hospital which were under the same Trust.