9911796707
TMI Blog1985 (9) TMI 218X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Customs, New Delhi. This Revision Petition has since been transferred for being dealt with as an appeal before this Tribunal. 2. The facts of the case are that the appellant arrived in Delhi from Singapore on 31-12-1979. He sought clearance of 15 parrots as his unaccompanied baggage. The Customs Officers consulted the Director, Delhi Zoo and appraised the assessable value of the parrots at Rs. 15,460 c.i.f. This valuation was contested by the appellant who stated that he had purchased the parrots at Singapore for US $ 100 only but that he did not have any receipt. He requested that the case be adjudicated without the issue of show cause notice. The parrots were assessed to duty at the appraised value in the absence of documentary evidence ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... items before the Customs Officers and the case having been adjudicated, there was no justification for reviewing the case. The Addl. Collector called upon the Inspector of Wild Life Preservation for his expert opinion as regards to the nature and species of the birds and it was observed by him that 3 out of the 15 birds were covered by Appendices I and II and 1 bird by Appendix III. He held that there was no doubt that the parrots intended for commercial purposes, as distinct from pet animals allowable as baggage, could not be imported without the cover of an import licence, and, by virtue of Section 3(2) of the Imports Exports (Control) Act, infringements of the provisions of Imports (Control) Order, 1955 are to be deemed to be restricti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ty on the parrots. 5. Shri S. Chatterjee, the learned JDR appearing for the Department pointed out that the Import Policy at the relevant time was contained in para 76 of the Policy for the period 1979-80 which read as follows : 76. Import of wild/zoo animals and birds will be allowed, both on the basis of barter and purchases, by Government recognised zoos for zoological purposes only. Such imports will be subject to the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. He pointed out that import could take place only within the framework of this provision and it was otherwise banned. Since the appellant had not produced any valid import licence, the Addl. Collector s Order-in-Review ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Heading Other live animals given in the CCCN, which serves as a guide for interpreting Customs Tariff, as the Tariff largely follows this Nomenclature, and hence has persuasive value, it becomes clear that parrots would be covered under Schedule I to the Imports (Control) Order, 1955 and in the relevant Import Policy issued under that Order, at para 76 therto, it has been laid down that import of wild/zoo animals and birds is allowable to Government recognised zoos for zoological purposes only, subject to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. 7. From the above discussions, it follows that the prohibition on import under the Imports Exports (Control) Act read with Import (Control) Order has been clearly s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... /78 dated 16-5-1978 under the subject Import of goods as personal baggage issued by the Import Trade Control Authorities, it has been laid down in para 7 that clearance of domestic pets like cats and birds in a limited number may be allowed as baggage. The appellant in this case has not shown that he was such a parrot lover as to keep 15 of them as pets, besides his own admission that he had brought them for commercial purposes. The import, therefore, required an import licence or CCP which the appellant did not possess, and according to the Policy at the relevant time, the import of such birds was banned except by the Government recognised zoos. The observation of the Calcutta High Court in Sheikh Mohd. Omar v. Collector of Customs ibid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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