9911796707
TMI Blog1992 (7) TMI 177X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ermitted clearance of the goods on provisional assessment basis after extending the benefit of the Notification and directed the Customs authorities to proceed with the provisional assessment on the basis of the invoice value. The appellants were also called upon to furnish a personal bond for the differential duty. The Department filed a Special Leave Petition in the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the Supreme Court disposed of the appeal, directing the Customs authorities to issue show cause notice and adjudicate the matter. In pursuance of the Supreme Court's order, the show cause notice was issued by the Assistant Collector of Customs proposing denial of the benefit of concessional assessment under Sl. No. 6(c) of the Notification supra and proposing enhancement of the invoice value of Rs. 8,197/- in bill of entry No. 7938 dated 22-1-1991 to Rs. 3,72,000/- and from invoice value of Rs. 18,689/- in bill of entry No. 8864 dated 23-1-1991 to Rs. 8,89,200/-. The impugned order was passed by the adjudicating authority holding that the goods fall within the coverage of Sl. No. 6(a) to Notification 70/89 on the ground that cup being parts of roller bearings, the question of classifying them ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ch reads as follows : Exemption to ball or roller bearings : In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-Section (l) of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), and in super session of the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 146/86-Customs, dated the 26th February, 1986, the Central Government being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts the goods specified in Column (2) of the Table hereto annexed and falling under heading No. 84.82 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), when imported into India from so much of that portion of the duty of customs leviable thereon which is specified in the said First Schedule as is in excess of the amount calculated at the rates specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table. TABLE Sl. No. Description of goods Rate of duty 1. ....... 5. Roller bearings of all types including needle roller bearings not exceeding 85 mm bore diameter namely a...... 6. Parts of goods covered by Sl. No. 5 above namely (a) Cups and Cones of roller bearings covered by items (a) and (b) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts use implies that the connected elements must be grammatically coordinate, as where the elements preceding and succeeding the use of the words refer to the same subject matter. While it is said that there is no exact synonym of the word in English, it has been defined to mean "along with". When expression "and/or" is used, that word may be taken as will best effect the purpose of the parties as gathered from the contract taken as a whole, or, in other words, as will best accord with the equity of the situation. Bobrow v. U.S. Casualty Co., 231 A.D. 91, 246 N.Y.S. 363, 367." Howell on the Interpretation of Statutes, 12th edition by P. ......... published by N.M. Tripathi Pvt. Ltd. at pages 232 to 233 has held as under: "And" and "or" In ordinary usage, "and" is conjunctive [(1967) 1 A.C. 192] and "or" disjunctive. (J.W. Dwyer Ltd. v. Met. Pol. Receiver (1967) 2 Q.B. 970. But to carry out the intention of the legislature (Uddin v. Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd. (1965) 2 Q.B. 582; R.V. Surrey Quarter Sessions, ex. P. Commissioner of Metropolitan Police (1963) 1 Q.B. 990 it may be necessary to read "and" in place of the conjunction "or", and vice versa. The Disabl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 4; M. Satyanarayana v. State of Karnataka (1986) 2 SCC 512. p. 515 = AIR 1986 S.C. 1162). As stated by SCRUTTON L.J.: "You do sometimes read 'or' as 'and' in a statute. But you do not do it unless you are obliged because 'or' does not generally mean 'and' and 'and' does not generally mean 'or' (Green v. Premier Glynrhonwy State Co. (1928) 1 KB 561, p. 568, Nasiruddin v. State Transport Appellate Tribunal, AIR 1976 S.C. 331 p. 338 = (1975) 2 SCC 671; Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Tek Chand Bhatia, supra; State (Delhi Administration v. Puran Mal (1985) 2 SCC 589 = AIR 1985 S.C. 741. And as pointed out by LORD HALSBURY the reading of 'or' as 'and' is not to be resorted to, "unless some other part of the same statute or the clear intention of it requires that to be done." (Mersey Docks and Harbour Board v. Henderson Bros. (1888) 13 AC 595 (HL) p. 603. See further, Puran Singh v. State of M.P. AIR 1965 S.C. 1583 p. 1584, (para 5); Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Tek Chand Bhatia, supra. But if the literal reading of the words is less favourable to the subject provided that the intention of the legislature is otherwise quite clear. [A.G. v. Beauchamp (1920) 1 KB 650; R. v. Oakes ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... importer did not require both modes of packing as the packing of potato chips required only a gas flushing equipment and not the vacuumising equipment which is used in the case of meat products and which could also not be used for packing potato chips as it would result in crushing of the chips, the benefit of Notification 125/86 was to be extended to the imported machine. The Tribunal also held, following the decisions of the various Courts that wherever a literal construction would defeat the obvious intention of the legislation and produce a wholly not reasonable result the Courts must "do some violence to the words" and so achieve that obvious intention and produce a rational construction. 11. In the case of Collector of Customs v. M/s. Keltron Component Complex Ltd. (Order No. C/178/91-B2 dated 25-7-1991) the issue related to the eligibility of "automatic stitcher and winder for electrolytic capacitors to the benefit of Notification 118/80-Cus. at Sl No. 29. The Department was of the view that the benefit could be extended only if it is a combined machine and since the respondents therein had imported automatic stitcher machines and automatic winder machines showing separate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
