9911796707
TMI Blog2001 (8) TMI 442X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nts filed two Bills of Entry on 14-3-1995 for clearance of ball bearings and claimed duty-free clearance of the goods under Section 20 of the Customs Act, stating that the impugned goods were earlier exported by M/s. SKF Bearing (I) Ltd. in August, November and December, 1994; that enquiry conducted by the Department revealed that the goods were exported under DEEC Scheme and under Central Excise Bond without payment of Central Excise Duty; that the Department denied the duty-free clearance under Section 20 of the Customs Act on the ground that the phrase exported in bond included Central Excise Bond as well and confirmed the duty of Customs amounting to Rs. 61,62,848/-. The ld. Advocate submitted that the term bond used in Section 20 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... force of two judgments of the Madras High Court; that no legal proposition has been laid down by the Supreme Court. The ld. Counsel also mentioned that the Tribunal is taking a consistent view that in the absence of any decision of a High Court holding a contrary view the decision given by High Court is binding on the Tribunal. Reliance was placed on the decision of the Larger Bench in the case of Khanbhai Esoofbhai v. CCE, Calcutta, [1999 (107) E.L.T. 557 (T-LB)]. The ld. Advocate, therefore, contended that the decision of the Madras High Court, being the only decision of a High Court available on the subject, has to be followed. 4. He also submitted that the Commissioner (Appeals) has relied upon the decision in the case of Commissioner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orted without payment of Central Excise Duty and the goods were exported in bond ; that certainly no customs bond can be executed when the goods are exported in bond out of country without payment of Central Excise duty; that under Section 20 of the Customs Act, free re-importation of goods is allowed subject to condition, inter alia, that goods were not exported in bond; that goods imported after being exported in bond would be chargeable to normal customs duty; that similar explanation was given in Notes on clause while amending Section 20 by Finance Bill, 1994. The ld. SDR, further submitted that the Supreme Court did not go into the connotation of a bond as the Court stressed that there should not be any double taxation; that the Supre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r exportation therefrom, such goods shall be liable to duty and be subject to all the conditions and restrictions, if any, to which goods of the like kind and value are liable or subject, on the importation thereof : Provided that if such importation (other than importation of goods exported in bond or of goods produced or manufactured in a free trade zone) takes place within three years after the exportation of such goods and it is shown to the satisfaction of the Assistant Collector of Customs that the goods are the same which were exported, the goods may be admitted - (a) in any case where at the time of exportation of the goods, drawback of any customs or excise duty levied by the Union or both was allowed, on payment of customs d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inclined to go into the precise connotation of a bond under the Customs Act in view of the reasonings adopted by them in disposing of the appeal filed by the Government against the decision of the Madras High Court. This is evident from the words in the circumstances used in para 3 of the judgment where their Lordships did not feel incline to go into the precise connotation of a bond. The ratio of the judgment of the Apex Court is contained in Para 2 which is extracted below : 2. It would appear that on re-importation of the goods, they were allowed to be cleared without payment of duty under Section 20 of the Customs Act on the strength of a bond under the Central Excise Act. It is only thereafter that the respondent was issued with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng double taxation . (Emphasis supplied). There is no doubt in our mind, that the Supreme Court did not allow the appeal of the Government for collecting duty under Section 20 of the Customs Act as M/s. Polisetty Somasundaram would have paid the excise duty on clearance of goods from bonded excise warehouse and if they now allow the appeal to collect duty under Section 20 it would mean double taxation. No such circumstances exist in the present matter as nothing of this sort has been brought on record nor submitted before us. The appellants have relied upon the decision of the Tribunal in which Madras High Court decision was followed. We observe that those decisions had not considered the judgment of the Supreme Court. Accordingly, applying ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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