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TMI Blog1987 (11) TMI 235X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... te of duty of Customs the case would lie within the jurisdiction of a Special Bench. He has also stated that such cases had earlier been dealt with by Special Benches. He also cited some of the cases of this nature transferred from South Regional Bench to the Special Bench. A list of such cases is mentioned in SDR s letter, dated 16.10.87. He has relied on Tribunal s order delivered by a 5-Member Bench in the case of Collector of Central Excise, Chandigarh v. Kashmir Vanaspati [1987(29) E.L.T. 208 (Tribunal)]. 2. Learned advocate for the appellant, on the other hand, has stated that the dispute is only about the following three questions: (1) Whether the resultant product mentioned in the advance licence has been exported or not. (2) Whether the goods can be confiscated and an appropriate fine has been imposed. (3) Whether Section 111 (o) of the Customs Act is applicable in the facts and circumstances of the case. Referring to the first question mentioned above, learned advocate pointed out that once the dispute about the resultant product is resolved duty from the appellant is either demandable or not. There is no dispute whatsoever about the rate of duty applicable on t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... w:- 129-C(3). Every appeal against a decision or order relating, among other things, to the determination of any question having a relation to the rate of duty of Customs or to the value of goods for the purposes of assessment, shall be heard by a Special Bench constituted by the President for hearing such appeal and such Special Bench shall consist of not less than 2 Members and shall include at least one Judicial Member and one Technical Member." It is to be noted from the aforesaid provision that an appeal would be within the jurisdiction of a Special Bench if it involves, inter alia, any question relating to :- (i) rate of duty; or (ii) value of goods; for the purposes of assessment. It should be noticed here that the question falling for consideration in an appeal for determining Jurisdiction of a Special Bench is not relating to quantum of duty. The law advisedly provides for determination of questions relating to rate of duty or value of goods and that too for the purpose of assessment. 6. There are matters which directly involve determination of questions of rate of duty or value of goods such as approval of rate of duty in a classification list or of value of go ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the legal provisions to the effect that the question for determination may have relation to rate of duty or value of goods. Expression relating to or in relation to is understood to be one of comprehensiveness which might both have a direct significance as well as indirect significance depending on the context (T.P. Mukerjee s Law Lexicon). They are not words of restrictive content and ought not to be so construed as held by the Madras High Court in the case of State Wakf Board Madras v. AbdulAziz Sahib (AIR 1968 Mad.79) - as referred to in the above mentioned Lexicon. There can be no quarrel with this general proposition of law of meaning of the words relating to or in relation to or having relation to . We have gone through the aforesaid Report of the judgment of Madras High Court and we find that in that case the facts were such which led the Court to make those observatlons.The provisions which fell for consideration before the Madras High Court were those of Section 57(1) and 57(3) of the Wakf Act, 1954. Section 57(1) stated as follows :- In every suit or proceeding relating to title of Wakf property.................the Court shall issue notice to the Board at the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y in issue in the subsequent suit of 1956 and therefore, the suit on the relevant proceedings did not thereby violate Section 57(1) because no notice was issued to the Wakf Board....................This argument was dismissed by Kailasham J. but he upheld the other argument concerning the period of limitation of one month raised by the respondent (original plaintiff to the petition filed on 6.7.64). In the letters patent appeal against the judgment of the single Judge, the respondent (original/plaintiff) again raised the aforesaid argument dismissed by Kailasham J. relating to the nature of proceedings of the subsequent suit of 1956. After setting out the various authorities on the scope of words relating to or in relation to the learned Judges held that allowance of the claim in the second suit would necessarily have consequences upon the declaration of title to the property claimed as Wakf property in the earlier suit; it is also a suit or proceeding relating to the Wakf property . The fact that the two steps have to be taken to arrive at this inference, instead of one direct step, cannot make any essential difference. 10. It would be noticed in the aforesaid observati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or certain excisable goods subject to the condition that procedure of Chapter X of C.E. Rules 1944 is followed, practice of the Tribunal has been that a matter involving a question whether such a condition has been violated or not, is handled by a Special Bench. 12. We agree that in some cases there is no dispute about the applicability of an exemption notification to a product, but the dispute is only about fulfilment of one or more conditions of such a notification. An answer to this dispute alone determines the rate of duty or value of goods. Can it be said in these circumstances that the indirect question involved in such cases is whether the lower rate of duty or value as sanctioned by the notification is applicable? We think the question is framed in too broad a manner to decide the question of jurisdiction. For the purpose of determining the jurisdiction, the disputed questions have to be spelt out with precision in the first instance. If any of those dispute questions involve rate of duty or value of goods for the purpose of assessment, it will be appropriate to say that such a question, among others, is involved directly. If the spelt out disputed questions do not invo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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