INDIAN CABLE CO LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have filed this writ petition praying writ of Mandamus directing the Respondents to act in accordance with law and to refund the sum of Rs. 4,65,596.37 which has been collected Customs Duty without the authority of law.

(2.) The facts are briefly as follows : The petitioner No. 1 carries on a business of manufacture of sales of electric wires and cables and the company for its said business owns and operates a factory at Jamshedpur in the State of Bihar and another factory at Pune, in the State of Maharastra. For manufacturing the aforesaid and cables the petitioner company requires PTFE tape as one of the raw materials (hereinafter referred to as tape for the sake of brevity). The petitioner procured the said supply either from the internal market or by importing from abroad. The petitioners state that prior to 1975 customs duty was levied at the rate prescribed under the Indian Tariff Act, 1954, the Tariff Item No. 82(3) (b). Thereafter the Parliament passed Indian Customs Tariff Act 1975 prescribing the rate at which the Customs duty was liable to be levied on any article imported in India. The said Act came into force on and from 7th August 1976. The Central Government in exercise the powers conferred by Section 25 of the Customs Act issued exemption notification being No. 228-Cus, dated August 2, as amended by Notification No. 443-Cus, dated November 29, 1976 exempting articles made of plastic excepting the articles mentioned in the to the said notification. The said amended notification is marked the letter 'A'.

(3.) During the years 1975, 1976 and 1977 the petitioner company imported diverse tapes from abroad through Port of Calcutta by seven consignments The said PTFE tape imported prior to 2nd August 1976 was fully and illegally levied to Customs duty under item No. 82(3) (b) and after August 2, 1976 was levied to customs duty under item No.39.07 of the Customs Tariff Act 1975 but in fact no duty was liable to be levied on the said PTFE Tape either in the Indian Tariff Act 1954 or under the Customs Tariff Act1975.