NAITIK ENTERPRISE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Mr. Nirzar Desai, learned Senior Standing Counsel, waives service of notice of rule on behalf of the respondents.

(2.) By this petition under article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the communication dated 29.11.2018 of the third respondent - Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Valvada, informing the petitioner that its request for re-export of goods has been rejected by the Principal Commissioner, Customs, Ahmedabad.

(3.) The facts stated briefly are that the petitioner is engaged in various businesses, including trading of goods like Aluminium P.S. Plates, printing ink, printing blankets etc. which are used in the printing industry. The petitioner purchased a consignment of 77,000 pieces of Aluminium Plates (PS) from one M/s. Real Ventures General Trading LLC of Dubai, UAE, under a commercial invoice No.RVGT0019541/2018 dated 25.2.2018. The goods have been imported at Inland Container Depot, Valvada, for which a Bill of Entry No.5574760 dated 14.3.2018 has also been filed by the petitioner seeking clearance of the goods for home consumption. In the Bill of Entry, the goods were shown as classifiable under S.H.No.37013000 of the Customs Tariff, and since Anti Dumping Duty @ 0.22 US Dollars per kilogram had been leviable on the goods covered by the above referred classification of S.H.No.37013000 of the Customs Tariff by virtue of Notification No.25/2014-Cus. (ADD) dated 9.6.2014 the petitioner has shown such Anti Dumping Duty also in the Bill of Entry for payment thereof. It is the case of the petitioner that when the goods were brought at ICD, Valvada and were opened by the Custom Officers, a few stickers were found on some of the boxes in the pallets indicating that the goods were allowed to be re-exported by the Customs authorities of Nhava Sheva Port in Raigad District of Maharashtra; and therefore, the Custom Officers caused inquiries and found that the concerned goods were imported by one M/s.S.K. Enterprises of Surendranagar at Nhava Sheva Port by filing a Bill of Entry No.8948204 dated 13.3.2017, and that the Nhava Sheva Custom officers having felt that the goods were Aluminium CtCP plates (and not Aluminium PS Plates as declared) attracting anti dumping duty at higher rate of 4.87 USD per square metre by virtue of Notification No.51/2012-Cus (ADD) dated 3.12.2012, and in view of such dispute about applicable rate of anti-dumping duty, the goods were re-exported by M/s. S.K. Enterprises from Nhava Sheva Port. It was also found that the proprietor of M/s. S.K. Enterprise was the son-in-law of the petitioner.