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2022 (10) TMI 71 - AT - CustomsBenefit of Notification No. 99/2011-Cus denied - import of Colchicum (Saanjan) Grade 3 - imported goods of Afghanistan origin imported from Afghanistan to India transiting through Pakistan - chargeable to NIL rate of duty OR chargeable to 200% duty? - HELD THAT:- The Bill of Lading is the document of title. It is issued by the Master of the Vessel or his agent, say, the Shipping Agent, acknowledging receipt of the goods. It indicates what has been received (say, container number so and so) and what it is said to contain, how it is sealed (seal number, etc.). If there are any remarks about the condition of the goods (say, leaking or damaged), it is called a “dirty bill of lading‟ and otherwise, called a “clean bill of lading‟. The responsibility of the shipping line is to deliver to the consignee the container (or other form of goods) in the form in which it has been received on production of the Bill of Lading. Since the Master of the Vessel cannot wait for the consignee importer, the goods, in the manner in which they have been received are handed over to the Custodian (say, Port Trust or CFS, ICD, etc.) which, in turn, hands over the goods to the importer on production of the Bill of Lading, clearance from the Customs (in the form of Bill of Entry) and a delivery order issued by the Shipping Line (confirming clearance of its dues). The Bill of Lading cannot mention Afghanistan as the Port of Loading because that is not where the goods were received by the Shipping Line. We do not find anything in the exemption notification requiring that the same transporter has to transport the goods from the place of export upto the final destination. Therefore, denial of the benefit of the exemption on this basis is not correct. The Principal Commissioner also doubted the documents which were submitted for the reason that the Invoice, Country of Origin Certificate and Transit Certificate were all issued on the same date 16.02.2022 and since these were to be issued by different authorities requiring inspections, he held that it would have been impossible to do so. We find that since the invoice was issued by the exporter itself and not by any authority it would not take much time to issue it. The Country of Origin Certificate was issued by the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries cross referencing the invoice and also endorsing the invoice on the same day - there are no good reason as to why one department of the Government and the Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the exporter itself cannot issue documents on the same date. There is no basis for formation of such a suspicion by the Principal Commissioner on this ground. As far as the Bill of Lading is concerned, it is true that it does not indicate the place of receipt of the goods and only mentions the Port of Loading as Karachi. Ideally, the Shipping Line should have mentioned that it received the goods in Karachi port itself but any doubt as to which goods were shipped by the Shipping Line to India and for which the Bill of Lading was issued will be put to rest if the Goods Declaration GD-1 Form filed with the Pakistan Customs is perused as the Examination Report by the officers clearly links the goods which were transported by road in a truck upto Karachi Port with the goods which were stuffed in the Container and shipped to India. The impugned order cannot be sustained - Appeal allowed.
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