9911796707
|
Home
Issues:
Levy of octroi on notional additional duty of customs, jurisdiction of Corporation, applicability of Division Bench judgment in Ceat Tyres case, inclusion of notional customs duty in assessable value, legality of Corporation's action, recovery of excess octroi duty, authority to recover additional octroi charges. Analysis: The judgment concerns a Company registered under the Companies Act, 1958, which imported raw material under the Duty Exemption Scheme without paying customs duty or additional customs duty. The Octroi Authorities of BMC added notional amounts of additional customs duty and special additional customs duty to the assessable value, leading to the Company challenging this action in the petition. The Company's counsel argued that the Corporation's levy of octroi on notional additional duty of customs was without jurisdiction, citing a Division Bench decision in Ceat Tyres case, which held that such inclusion of duty in the assessable value was not permissible. On the other hand, the Corporation's counsel contended that the Ceat Tyres judgment applied only to customs duty, not additional or countervailing duty, and therefore, the Corporation acted lawfully in adding these duties to the assessable value. After considering both arguments, the Court found that the controversy in the present case was covered by the Division Bench decision in Ceat Tyres case. The Division Bench had ruled that the Corporation had no authority to recover excess octroi duty by including notional customs duty in the assessable value, even if the duty might become payable later due to non-compliance with certain conditions of the exemption. The Court upheld the Company's argument and held that the Corporation's action of loading additional duty of customs/countervailing duty to the value of goods was unsustainable. The judgment made the Rule absolute in favor of the petitioners, with no order as to costs. It clarified that the Corporation retained the right to frame an appropriate scheme as mentioned in the Division Bench decision. The Corporation was directed to comply with the order within six weeks after verifying the calculations submitted by the Company.
|
