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TMI Blog1994 (12) TMI 81X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fferent consignments. So far as common appellant M/s. Bombay Oil Industries Pvt. Ltd. in C.A. Nos. 4013-13A of 1985 is concerned, it imported bleachable mutton tallow while the rest of the appellants imported bleachable fancy tallow which according to them was not mutton tallow. These imports were subject to customs duty under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. As per the applicable Customs Tariff as laid down in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, the imported tallow was liable to customs duty under sub-heading of Heading No. 15.01/06 at the rate of 35 per cent ad valorem. A partial exemption was given by the Central Government from the payment of customs duty so far as imported tallow was concerned by an exemption Notification dated 2nd August, 1976 being Notification No. 141-Cus./76 issued in exercise of powers conferred on the Central Government by sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962. The said Notification provided that the Central Government being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, exempts tallow having the specifications mentioned hereunder and falling under sub-heading No. 2 of Heading No. 15.01/06 of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tallow after the Notification dated 2-9-1978 having given partial exemption upto 30% ad valorem, customs duty on imported tallow covered even that imported tallow which did not meet any colour requirement but so far as present proceedings are concerned as the appellants had imported tallow during the time the earlier Notification dated 2-8-1976 held the field, they had to meet the colour specification No. 2. The appellants contended before the Customs Authorities that they were entitled to get refund of customs duty paid by them in excess of 15 per cent as their imported tallow satisfied Notification of Customs dated 2-8-1976. The samples of imported tallow were examined by Customs House and were found not meeting the colour test specification as laid down by the Notification dated 2-8-1976. Consequently, their request was rejected by the Assistant Coll-ector of Customs. They went in appeal to the Collector of Customs. The Collector of Customs, Bombay, took the view that so far as common appellant in Civil Appeal Nos. 4013-13A of 1985, namely, M/s. Bombay Oil Industries Pvt. Ltd. was concerned, it had imported tallow on 4-4-1978 when the earlier Notification 141-Cus./76 was operat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the benefit of Notification 141-Cus./76 shall be extended otherwise not. 4.The common appellant, M/s. Bombay Oils Industries Pvt. Ltd., being aggrieved by the order of the Appellate Collector dismissing its appeal preferred further appeals to the Customs, Excise & Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal. So far as remaining four appellants are concerned, the Central Government issued notices under Section 131(3) of the Customs Act, 1962, whereby all these appellants were called upon to show cause why the orders passed by the Appellate Collector should not be recalled and annulled. After the establishment of the Tribunal these proceedings were transferred to the Tribunal. They were registered as appeals as taken out by the Collector of Customs, Bombay. As noted earlier the two appeals of M/s. Bombay Oil Industries Pvt. Ltd. and the four appeals of the Collector of Customs against the remaining four present appellants were heard together by the Tribunal along with other four appeals. In all ten appeals were disposed of by the common judgment. The Tribunal came to the conclusion that the colour specification as laid down by the Notification dated 2-8-1976 being No. 141-Cus./76 was not ful ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ow and that the correct method which should have been adopted was method prescribed by the American Oil Chemists' Society and if that was done in all probabilities their samples would have satisfied the colour test of being not deeper than 20. It was next contended that exemption Notification of 1976 nowhere lays down any particular method for testing colour of samples of imported tallow and especially when imported tallow came from foreign countries specially America and Australia, the American method of testing colour specification should have been adopted as Appellate Collector had done. It was further submitted that even if Indian testing method was adopted by following IS 548, the testing method should have been done on one inch cell and not on half inch cell as was done by Customs House so far as their samples were concerned. In these circumstances the Tribunal was not justified in allowing the appeals. These appeals should have been dismissed. 7.Having given our anxious consideration to the rival contentions, we have reached the conclusion that there is no substance in any of the appeals. 8.It has to be kept in view that as per Section 12 of the Customs Act, duties of cust ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the situation may call for the import and export of certain goods as also for serving the social objectives of the State. Since the Parliament cannot constantly monitor the needs of and the emerging trends in the economy and is in no position to engage itself in day-to-day regulation and adjustment of import-export trade accordingly, power is conferred upon the Central Government to provide for exemption from duty of goods, either wholly or partly, and with or without conditions, as may be called for in public interest. Reading any limitation into this power is not warranted. If the public interest demands that the exemption should be absolute, the Central Government can do so. Similarly, if the public interest demands that exemption should be granted only subject to certain conditions it can provide such conditions. Then again if the public interest demands that conditions specified should relate to a stage subsequent to the date of clearance it can do so. The guiding factor is the public interest." 9.Once the appellants admittedly imported tallow into this country, on account of the charge by the Customs Act under Section 12, their imported tallow attracted customs duty. It is f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... did not satisfy condition No. 2 of colour as laid down by Notification 141-Cus./76, dated 2-8-1976. On these findings reached by the Custom House and when no effort to rebut the same was made by the appellants, the conclusion was inevitable that these imported consignments of tallow during the time exemption Notification dated 2-8-1976 was holding the field did not earn the exemption under the said Notification from the customs duty to the extent of 30 per cent and they were liable to pay full customs duty. This finding is rightly reached by the Tribunal on facts and calls for no interference. So far as submission of learned counsel for appellant M/s. Bombay Oil Indus-tries Pvt. Ltd., is concerned to the effect that only because the appellant imported mutton tallow, IS 548 could not have been resorted to cannot be accepted in view of the Indian Standards Institution's method for testing animal tallow which has to follow IS 548 as seen earlier. It may also be noted that the Tribunal has observed in paragraph 25 of its judgment that M/s. Bombay Oil Industries Pvt. Ltd. did not question the test result. Consequently, it is too late for it to make a grievance about it in these proceed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e country and it would be no ground to say that the Indian goods imported in foreign countries meet the requirement of the Indian specification though they may not meet the requirement of specification laid down by the importing countries, for the simple reason that they have to meet the requirements of the importing country, and not of India which is the exporting country. In the present case also, therefore, when the importers are Indian they have to meet the requirement of exemption Notification issued by the Central Government. These imports must satisfy the test as laid down by the exemption Notification issued in India and when the Notification is silent about the method for testing the colour of imported items then the testing method adopted by the Indian Standards Institution would of necessity be applicable. It was then contended by the learned counsel for the appellants in these remaining four appeals that IS 548 Part I was to be applied for testing the colour of tallows. The colour specification by the Notification was required to be tested on one inch cell on the lovibond scale expressed as Y + 5R. While in the present case the samples were tested on one half inch cell ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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