SBEC SUGAR LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) M/s.SBEC Sugar Limited (petitioner No.1 and hereinafter to be referred to as the company ) and one of its shareholders S.S. Agarwal (petitioner No.2) have approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the demand for interest in respect of three consignments referred to in Exhibit A annexed thereto and the letter dated 17th March, 1998 (Exhibit L ) rejecting the prayer made by the company for waiver of interest.

(2.) The company was to set up a sugar plant at village Malkapur (Uttar Pradesh). For that purpose the company applied for industrial licence which was granted on 5th December, 1995. The company imported machines namely batch centrifugal, hydraulic drivers, continuous certrifugals and control and manual valves for the purposes of sugar plant.

(3.) As the controversy in the writ petition centres around the imported goods which were kept in the bonded warehouse vide bond No.CW-20-4732 dated 26th December, 1995, CW-20-4733 dated 26th December, 1995 and CW-20-4842 dated 2nd January, 1996, we restrict the facts to the said imported goods only. The two bonds CW-20-4732 and CW-20-4733 had an expiry date of 25th December, 1996 and the bond CW-20-4842 was to expire on 1st January, 1997. The company made an application on 19th December, 1996 for extension of bond which came to be rejected and the communication was sent to the company on 13th January, 1997. The request for extension of bond period came to be rejected in terms of the 2(i)(iii) of the public notice No.102/96 dated 5th June, 1996. The company upon receipt of the communication dated 13th January, 1997 made representation to the Chief Commissioner of Customs (respondent NO.2) against their request for extension of bond period and it is the case of the company that no communication in respect of the said representation has been received by the company.