NAVJIVAN MILLS CO. LTD. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN both these Special Civil Applications the main question that arises for consideration is whether the Government of India is under any obligation to levy what is known as 'additional duty' equivalent to excise duty on articles imported into India if a like article manufactured in India is subjected to excise duty.

(2.) THE petitioners in Special Application No. 3176 of 1979 are two Textile Mills, one from Kalol in North Gujarat and another from Surat in Surat District and they contend that they are the consumers of the Viscose staple fibre, that is, a man -made fibre of cellulosic origin. The petitioners themselves are not manufacturers of Viscose staple fibre but they utilise the Viscose staple fibre manufactured by Gwalior Rayon Silk Mfg. (Wvg.) Co. Ltd., the second respondent herein. The petitioners have filed this petition under the provisions of Order 1 Rule 8 of the Code of Civil Procedure in a representative capacity on behalf of themselves and on behalf of other Textile Mills mentioned in the Schedule to the petition. The list consists of 44 Textile Mills who are all manufacturers of yarn and fabric made of yarn and what is challenged in these proceedings is the validity of the two notifications issued by the Government. They are the notifications of January 5, 1979 and October 30, 1979 and during the pendency of these Special Civil Applications a further notification was issued by the Government of India on June 19, 1980 which is also challenged on the same grounds as the challenge to the earlier two notifications of January 5, 1979 and October 30, 1979.

(3.) UNDER the Customs Act, 1962 import duty on articles imported into India can be levied and the rate at which the customs duty is to be levied is prescribed from time to time. Under section 12, except as otherwise provided in the Customs Act, or any other law for the time being in force, duties of customs shall be levied at such rates as may be specified under the Indian Tariff Act, 1934, or any other law for the time being in force, on goods imported into, or exported from, India. The Customs Act provides under section 25 for granting exemption from duty. Section 25(1) says that if the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in the official gazette, exempt generally either absolutely or subject to such conditions (to be fulfilled before or after clearance) as may be specified in the notification goods of any specified description from the whole or any part of duty of customs leviable thereon. Under sub -section (2) if the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by special order in each case, exempt from the payment of duty, under circumstances of an exceptional nature to be stated in such order, any goods on which duty is leviable. We are not concerned with exceptional cases covered by sub -section (2) of section 25. We are concerned with section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. The Customs Tariff Act, 1975 repealed the Indian Tariff Act, 1934 and the Indian Tariff (Amendment) Act, 1949 and it repealed and replaced these two Acts and by section 13 it has been provided that in the Customs Act, 1962, in sub -section (1) of section 12 and in sub -section (1) of section 14, for the words and figures 'Indian Tariff Act, 1934', the words and figures 'Customs Tariff Act, 1975' be substituted. Therefore, for the purpose of the Customs Act, 1962 we have now to read the provisions of Customs Tariff Act, 1975.