9911796707
TMI Blog1989 (9) TMI 116X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n which it could have been satisfied that it was necessary in the public interest to grant the exemption for payment of custom duty by the said impugned notifications only in case of imports into India of edible oils by the National Dairy Development Board. It is alleged that in or about February 1981, the petitioner no. 1 Company entered into a contract with Messrs Edible Products Limited of Singapore for purchase and import of 500 Metric Tons of Cordon Oil Crude on the terms and conditions in the sales confirmation note. It is alleged that the notification dated 1st April, 1980 as amended on 24th October, 1980 discriminates between the National Dairy Development Board on the one hand and an importer like the Petitioner Company on the othe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... any customs duty on edible oils imported or to be imported by the petitioner Company under the contract as referred to in paragraph 4 of the writ petition or any other similar contract or contracts upon the petitioners upon furnishing bank guarantees for the amount of 50% of the duty in respect of the consignment, to the satisfaction of the Collector of Customs. The said order further provided that the Collector will approve the form within 3(three) days from the date of submission of the said form for furnishing bank guarantee as aforesaid. Subsequently, an application was made for verifying the interim order and upon hearing the learned lawyers of the respective parties, the interim order was modified by order dated August 11, 1981 to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t has been filed on behalf of the respondents. Be that as it may, the only question has been raised before this Court as to whether there can be discrimination to exempt customs duty in case of importing edible oil. A specific allegation made that while the respondent no. 4 National Dairy Development Board is given certain privileges the petitioner no. 1 Company is denied and there is unfair competition and discriminatory treatment. The attention of the Court has been drawn to the language of Article 19(l)(g) which indicates inter alia that all Citizens shall have the right to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. It is also seen from Article 19(6) that nothing in sub-clause (g) of the said Clause shall a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thout being beguiled by the mere appearance of the legislation. The expression "reasonable restrictions" seeks to strike a balance between the freedom guaranteed by any of the sub-clauses of Clause (l) of Article 19 and social control permitted by any Act of the Clauses (2) to (6). It connotes that limitations imposed in a person in the enjoyment of a right should not be arbitrary or of an excessive nature, beyond what is required in the interest of the public. In order to be reasonable, the restriction must have a reasonable relation to the object which the legislation seeks to achieve, and must not go in excess of that. The standard reasonableness must also vary from age to age and be related to the adjustment necessary to solve the probl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... passing special exemption - notifications has to be found relevant and reasonable - Article 14 of the Constitution of India - were considered in the proper perspective. It was clearly found that the requirement is intended by the Statute to ensure that the satisfaction of the Central Government concerning the necessity of the order is not reached arbitrarily but flows from material relevant to the object for which the power has been conferred. The circumstances recited in the exemption orders have been quoted:- "...In view of high international prices of vegetable oils and in order to keep the domestic prices of Vanaspati at reasonable levels, it has been felt that certain specified vegetable non-essential oils imported by the S.T.C. woul ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ittle further step holding inter alia, that the situation may be considered for the benefit of the public at large and for social interest. Benefits may be given to a particular organisation for a specific purpose while by importing certain special items, the public interest is satisfied. 7. This Court is convinced that the exemptions provided to the respondent no. 4 are not applicable to the items being imported by the petitioners and the petitioners cannot challenge the impugned notifications on the ground of irregularity and illegality. The challenges as made by the petitioners are not permitted in law and the Court does not find any merit in the writ petition. 8. For the foregoing reasons, the writ petition is dismissed. The Rule is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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