9911796707
TMI Blog1996 (2) TMI 462X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... port licence with letter of authority issued in favour of the petitioner to import non-restricted type of Ball, Roller and Taper Roller Bearings and components, the petitioner imported ball bearings from M/s. Machino Export, Sofia, Bulgaria. In the Bill of Lading dated August 30, 1973 (Annexure A , page 45 of the writ record) the goods were described as follows :- K Co. - Bombay Type 305/24x61x16 Machinoexport Sofia/Bulgaria Kom Nr 48273054 BALL BEARINGS 305/24x61x16 Gross Weight Kgs. 2640. - Dynamic 1460 Static 940 2 m 3 48 Wooden cases Say Forty eight cases only. Clean on board. 3. The petitioner on being informed about the arrival of the goods applied for their clearance by filing a Bill of Entry No. 1118, dated November 16, 1973 with the declaration that the consignment contained ball bearings of type 305 of size/dimensions 24x61x16 mm unstandard. The goods, however, were not cleared by the Customs authorities on the ground that on exmination of the goods it was found that dimensions of the imported ball bearings were 25x62x17 mm, and were different from the ones declared in the invoice and the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he policy of the said Bulgarian enterprise to treat those bearings as unstandard ones and sell them as such which on test did not conform to the correct hardness, dimensions and weight of the Bulgarian standard bearings. As per the letter, the standard bearing 305 should have the following requisites : Hardness Weight Dimensions Load bearing capacity. 64 230 grams 25x62x17 mm Dynamic 1660, Static 1150 Regarding the ball bearings in question it was stated that they did not conform to these standards, and, therefore, the bearings were described and sold as unstandard bearings of the size 24x61x16 mm. The Embassy also expressed the view that the bearings of the type 305 were not of banned category as per the policy of the Government of India. 7. On July 3, 1974, the Appraiser, Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch, informed the petitioner that the department was not proposing to rely upon the opinion given by M/s. S.K.F. India Bearing Co. Ltd., and, as desired by the petitioner at the time of personal hearing granted to it by the Collector of Customs, twelve representative samples of the imported bearings were draw ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 76, the Board rejected the appeal and confirmed the order passed by the Collector. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a revision before the Government of India, Department of Revenue and Banking, but it met the same fate and was rejected on June 18, 1977. Thus, all the three authorities held that the goods were of banned category as they were covered by Appendix 14(1)(a) [Section II-S, No. 19(1)(i)/II] of the relevant Import Trade Control Policy and were of the type 6305 and of the size 25x62x17 mm. 11. The main contention of the learned Counsel for the petitioner is that the ball bearings imported by the petitioner were different from the ball bearings which were banned under the relevant Import Trade Control Policy. He submitted that the test reports revealed that the ball bearings imported by the petitioner were not of the sizes 25x62x17 mm but were of the sizes less than the aforesaid dimensions. He also submitted that the ban related to the standard bearings only. The bearings imported by the petitioner, according to him, were unstandard bearings and, therefore, were not banned. In this regard he invited my attention to foot Note 3 of Appendix 14(1)(a) of the Policy, which rea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 4.900 II 24.95 61.95 17.05 225.000 III 25.00 62.00 17.00 226.150 156/I 24.95 62.00 17.00 225.500 II 24.95 62.00 17.00 224.600 III* 190/I 25.00 62.00 17.00 225.400 II 25.00 62.00 17.00 225.200 III* xx xx xx sd/- 25-6-74. Thus, it is clear that some of the ball bearings are of the size 25x62x17 mm while the others are close to this size. 15. In the notice issued to the petitioner under Section 124 of the Customs Act it was brought out that the petitioner had asked M/s. Machino-Export Co. Ltd., its suppliers, to vary the size of the ball bearings to be supplied to it. This fact does not seem to have been specifically controverted in the reply to the show cause notice. What was denied was that the ball bearings imported by the petitioner were not of a banned type. It was also stated that the bearings whose dime ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hether or not a particular variety of ball bearings can be imported under the Import Trade Control Policy. The hardness or the weight of the ball bearings is not relevant. Learned counsel for the petitioner invited my attention to Note 3 to Appendix 14(1)(a) [Section II-S, No. 19(1)(i)/II], which reads as follows :- 3. The ban relates to the standard bearings only. Import of extra precision and heavy duty bearings will be considered in consultation with DGTD. This note does not help the petitioner. It is not the case of the petitioner that it had made the import of extra precision and heavy duty bearings in consultation with the DGTD. The fact that the bearings have different dimensions do not make them unstandard ones. As already seen, the import of ball bearings of the size mentioned in Appendix 14(1)(a) is not permitted. The authorities have only to go by the size of the bearings for finding out as to whether the import is banned or not. The further contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that since the policy does not bar the import of ball bearings of the sizes falling between the bearings of the dimensions 24x61x16 mm and 25x62x17 mm the authorities were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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