JAYANT PURSHOTTAM SONI Vs. K G LAHIRI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition, the petitioner who is the proprietor of Messrs Vijay Studio has impugned the legality and correctness of two orders dated 21st May, 1969 and 30th May, 1969 passed by the Assistant Collector of Customs which orders were subsequently confirmed in appeal and in revision by the respective authorities.

(2.) A few facts may be stated as under : The petitioners studio is at Gola Lane, Dr. D.N. Road, Bombay 1. The petitioner is inter alia the manufacturer of "Electronic Flash Guns", which are attachments to be attached to cameras. The petitioner in the firm name had imported 3539 pieces of International Silicon Rectifiers under Bill of Entry bearing Case No. 4211 dated 20th September, 1968. Similarly the petitioner had imported 5682 pieces of the very same item under bill of entry bearing Cash No. 625 dated 5th October, 1968. This import was pursuant to actual users import licence which had been granted to the petitioner on the basis of verification made by the Small Scale Industries Department, Government of Maharashtra. This Department had certified that the petitioner was using and was required to use the said rectifiers for the manufacture of electronic flash guns. It was the petitioners contention that there rectifiers imported by him were outside the ambit and scope of the Central Excise Tariff and were not chargeable with excise duty. However, this contention was not accepted by the Department of Central Excise and Customs which held that they were chargeable to excise duty at the rate of Rs. 1/- per piece. This was principally on the basis of a possible user mentioned in the advertising literature of the manufacturer of the said rectifiers (which were of Japanese origin) which literature mentioned that the said rectifiers were also capable of being used in F.M. Radios and T.V. sets. The petitioner raised several contention before the Department including the one that the Silicon Rectifiers imported by him were exempt from excise duty as per instructions contained in circular letter No. 1 F-35/1/68/CX/VII, dated 1st July, 1968, from the Central Board of Excise and Customs, New Delhi, addressed to all the Collectors of Central Excise. It appears that all these contentions which are indicated in para 2 of the petition were negatived and the petitioner was made to pay duty at the rate of Rs. one per piece, aggregating to Rs. 9,221/-. The petitioner thereafter supplied for refund of the excise duty wrongly charged and by the orders which are impugned in the petition, it was held that the original assessments were in order and the application was, therefore, rejected. The matter was carried further to the appellate Collector of Customs and by his orders dated 12th June, 1970 and 7th July, 1970 the second respondent rejected both the contentions.

(3.) Being aggrieved by these two orders of the respondent No. 2, the matter was carried further in revision to the Government of India and by the order of the Joint Secretary to the Government of India, the revision application was rejected.