SURESH CHAND AND SONS Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard.

(2.) The petitioners, who are the proprietary firms carrying on trade and business activities of import and export of spices etc., have jointly filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking to claim refund of the amount of interest alleged to have been illegally imposed upon and recovered from them without issuing notice as contemplated under Section 59(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 ('Act' for short).

(3.) The factual backdrop leading to the petition is that when the goods were imported by the petitioners, the customs authorities, respondent Nos. 2 and 3 herein did not permit the clearance of the goods since some investigation was necessary. The petitioners, therefore, had to file bills of entry for bonding the goods in a warehouse. The respondents made endorsements on the bills of entry filed by the petitioners for bonding of the goods that exbond clearance of the goods will not be permitted until the investigation with regard to import of the goods i.e. Import Trade Control Angle involved in the goods is not cleared by the SIIB. In the process, the customs authorities assessed the goods provisionally as per Section 18 of the Act.