9911796707
TMI Blog1970 (9) TMI 34X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... documents therefrom. 2. The appellant, which is a public limited company having its registered office at Calcutta, owns and runs a factory known as Sahu Chemicals and Fertilisers at Varanasi where chemicals such as ammonia and soda ash are manufactured. In February, 1962 excise duty was fixed on manufacture of ammonia for the purpose of fertilizers at Rs. 25/- per metric tonne if it was used for other purposes. The notification by which the aforesaid duty was payable was later withdrawn by means of another notification dated March 1, 1964 and thereafter no excise duty was required to be paid on the manufacture of ammonia. For the period from May, 1962 to the beginning of March, 1964 the appellant had paid duty at the rate of Rs. 25/- per m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... authorisation itself was not in accordance with the provisions of Section 105 of the Customs Act, 1962. 4. Section 12 of the Act is in the following terms : "Section 12. Application of the provisions of Act VIII of 1878 to Central Excise Duties. The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette declare that any of the provisions of the Sea Customs Act, 1878, relating to the levy on and exemption from customs duties, drawback of duty, warehousing offences and penalties, confiscation, and procedure relating to offences and appeals, shall, with such modifications and alterations as it may consider necessary or desirable to adapt them to the circumstances, be applicable in regard to like matters in respect of the duties impo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Act are secreted in any place, he may authorise any officer of customs to search or may himself search for such goods, documents or things." "Section 110(3). The proper officer may seize any document or things which, in his opinion, will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act." 5. On the first point it has been urged on behalf of the appellant that Section 12 of the Act gave unrestricted and unlimited power to the Central Government to modify or alter the provisions of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 and to apply the provisions of that Act with such modifications and alterations as the Central Government might consider appropriate. Modification, it has been pointed out, may be permissible and may not fall within the vice ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... icy. 7. The second contention has hardly any merit. Section 8(1) of the General Clauses Act provides that where any Central Act, repeals and re-enacts with or without modification, any provision of a former enactment, then references in any such enactment or in any instrument to the provision so repealed shall, unless a different intention appears, be construed as references to the provision so re-enacted. By virtue of this provision it cannot be disputed that in Section 12 of the Act, the Customs Act, 1962 can be read in place of the Sea Customs Act, 1878. An attempt has been made to argue that Section 12 of the Act empowers incorporation of the provisions of Sea Customs Act, 1878 in the Act itself and whenever a notification is issued un ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 786= (AIR 1962 SC 316), this Court examined at length the meaning and effect of incorporation by reference of one statute into another and dismissed the Privy Council case referred to before in detail. Section 8(1) of the General Clauses Act, it was pointed out, dealt with reference or citation of one enactment in another without incorporation. The usual or recognised formulae generally employed to effect incorporation were considered; for instance the words used in Section 20 of the 53 and 54 Vict. Ch. 70—Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, the words used were : "Shall, for that purpose, be deemed to form part of this Act in the same manner as if they were enacted in the body thereof." In 54 and 55 Vict. Ch. 19 Section 1(3), the l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd required an appellant to deposit pending the appeal the duty or penalty imposed and empowered the appellate authority, in its discretion to dispense with such deposit pending the appeal in any particular case. There was a provision in the Act itself. Section 35, which gave an unfettered right of appeal to a person aggrieved by any decision or order made under the Act. It was in these circumstances that it was held that section 129 of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 could not be made applicable so as to whittle down the substantive right of appeal conferred by Section 35 of the Act. The ratio of that decision can afford no assistance to the appellant in the present case. By the notification issued under Section 12 of the Act after the enactment ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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