9911796707
TMI Blog1997 (2) TMI 101X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mports was introduced and it required that the contract relating to the project import should be registered. The Project Imports (Registration of Contract) Regulations, 1965, were introduced as a consequence. They provide that every importer claiming assessment of articles falling under the relevant entry, being Heading 84.66 of the present Customs Tariff, should apply to the appropriate officer of Customs at the port where the goods are to be imported for registration of his contract. The application in that behalf must specify "such other particulars as may be considered necessary by the Appropriate Officer for the purposes of assessment under the said Heading". 3.The appellants entered into a contract on 19th December, 1978, with corpor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... procurement of capital goods, technical assistance, etc., in connection with the DMT project of the appellants thus : " Value (i) Import of Capital goods US $ 17.00 million (ii) Overseas dismantling charges etc. US $ 5.5 million (iii) Fee for Technology & Technical Assistance. US $ 2.5 million." On 27th August, 1982, the Assistant Collector of Customs, Bombay, informed the appellants that the said contract had been registered and that spares to the extent of 10 per cent of the value of the main machinery were eligible for the concessional rate of assessment under Heading 84.66(II). On 30th September, 1982, the Reserve Bank informed the appellants that it had agreed to the expenditure by the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e of the said plant had to be taken to be the value that had been so determined and it was open to the Customs authorities not to accept that value only if there was material to indicate that it was arrived at on account of some error or a particular item fell outside the scope of the project import. We find it difficult to accept the submission. Once it is accepted that there is no more than a provisional assessment at the stage when the contract is registered under the said Regulations, it is open to the Customs authorities to make a final assessment taking into account all factors that are relevant thereto, and they are not inhibited by reason of the registration of the contract under the said Regulations. 6.The question now is whether ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ady for transport. It was only for determining what parts of the said plant needed repair. The Tribunal had been in error in emphasising Clause 9 of the said contract in holding that these inspection charges were includible for the purposes of arriving at the assessable value of the said plant. Clause 9 of the said contract records that independent certification of the condition of the said plant was required to enable the appellants to obtain an import licence for it. It was, therefore, agreed that the appellants would engage in consultation with Hercofina, an engineering contractor, at the appellants' expense, to inspect the major pieces of the said plant and issue a certificate in this behalf. It seems to us clear that this inspection, c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sported had to be buried at an approved site. It was, therefore, that the appellants had to engage the services of a specialist contractor who came to the site with protective devices and vehicles to remove the asbestos insulation and transport it to the burial site. Learned Counsel for the appellants submitted that, while the said contract required the appellants to dismantle the said plant and, therefore, to remove the asbestos insulation, it did not require the appellants to bury the asbestos. We must proceed upon the assumption that the said contract required the appellants to carry out their obligations thereunder in a lawful manner. It was, therefore, implicit that the appellants should conform to the law that required the removed asb ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed charges" (Item 5) and "Reimbursement to Tata Incorporated ......" (Item 6) are not sustained. 14.The letter dated 24th August, 1982, written by the Assistant Collector of Customs to the appellants intimating to them that the said contract had been registered, stated that spares to the extent of 10 per cent of the value of the main machinery were eligible for the concessional rate of assessment under Item 84.66. It goes without saying that this percentage must now be calculated on the basis of the enhanced value of the said plant. Spares to that extent would form part of the project import and must be valued on par with the said plant, that is to say that the rate of exchange which is applied in respect of the said plant must also be app ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
