TMI Blog2000 (7) TMI 89X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... essee on 24-3-1977, that survey having been made in the presence of the Customs Officer it was found that there was a shortage in the quantities the packages having been found to be open, the assessee claimed the benefit of Section 23 of the Act on the ground that the shortage which was due to pilferage amounted to loss and therefore, under the provisions of Section 23 of the Act which provides for remission of duty on lost, destroyed or abandoned goods, the assessee was entitled to remission. The claim that so made was rejected by the authorities and the rejection upheld by the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal. The rejection of the claim was on the ground that the loss being attributable to pilferage and there being a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ases of pilferage as well. 5.Having perused the decision relied upon we are not persuaded to accept that Section 23 was intended to take within its ambit cases of pilferage for which specific provision had been made by Parliament in Section 18(13) of the Act. It is a basic rule of construction of statute that every provision contained in the statute should be assigned a meaning and given effect to, as the presumption is that the legislature did not intend to enact anything which was redundant or otiose and that the provisions of statute are always required to be construed harmoniously so as to effectuate each and every part thereof - 6.Section 18(13) is captioned 'Duty on pilfered goods' and reads thus : "If any imported goods are pil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... before clearance for home consumption would entitle the importer to remission of duty in respect of such goods. The loss or destruction must be of imported goods. 10.Both Sections 13 and 23 are applicable only after the stage of importation and prior to the order for clearance for home consumption or deposit in a warehouse is made. Section 13 deals with one specific mode of loss namely pilferage. In respect of goods which have been pilfered after they had been unloaded but before the goods are cleared for home consumption or deposit in a warehouse the importer would have no liability for payment of duty. In cases where Section 23 is attracted, the importer is entitled to remission of duty, which we are informed by the Counsel of the Bar w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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