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TMI Blog1991 (3) TMI 145X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... filament yarn from Japan and other countries. The imported goods were subject to payment of additional duty of customs equal to excise duty, which is also popularly called countervailing duty, under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The petitioner is also liable to pay auxiliary duty under the Finance Act, 1978 and also under the Finance Act of the relevant years in question. 2. It is contended that the additional duty of customs and the auxiliary duty is levied on the imported goods and therefore the taxable event which attracts the duty is importation of the goods into India. The taxable event occurs when the goods enter into the territorial water of India. Therefore, it is submitted that it is only at the point of time when the goods entered into the territorial waters of India, the same can be subjected to tax under the provisions of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and under the relevant Finance Act. It is further argued that the rate of duty applicable on the imported goods would be the prevailing rate of duty when the taxable event occurs i.e. when the goods enter into the territorial water of India. 3. The grievance of the petitioner is that the additional duty of customs under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thereunder are applicable to the duty chargeable under Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and they are to be applied accordingly. Thus this is an instance of legislation by reference or citation. Hence the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 are to be read as if they are written down in the body of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and the provisions of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 are supplementary to each other. They cannot be applied and implemented without the aid of each other. Similar is the position with regard to Finance Act, 1975. By Section 35 of the Finance Act, 1978, auxiliary duty of customs has been imposed. Section 35(4) also provides that the Customs Act, 1962 and the rules made thereunder shall apply in relation to the levy and collection of the auxiliary duty of customs leviable under Section 35 of the Finance Act. It is also provided that these provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and the rules shall apply as if the duty of customs of such goods were levied and collected under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and the rules and regulations made thereunder. Thus, this is also an instance of legislation by reference. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1980 S.C. page 271. In that case, the legality and validity of the Kerala Buildings Tax Act, 1975 (7 of 1975) was challenged. It was inter alia submitted that the Act came into force on April 2, 1975. Even so, the tax was imposed on buildings with retrospective effect from April 1, 1973 and therefore the Act was unconstitutional and hence illegal and void. Repelling the argument, the Supreme Court has approvingly quoted the aforesaid paragraph from CRAIES ON STATUTE LAW and has further stated as follows in para 14 of the reported judgment :- "It may be that there was no liability to building tax until the promulgation of the Act (earlier the Ordinances) but mere absence of an earlier taxing statute cannot be said to create a 'vested right', under any existing law, that it shall not be levied in future with effect from a date anterior to the passing of the Act. Nor can it be said that by imposing the building tax from an earlier date any new obligation or disability has been attached in respect of any earlier transaction or consideration. The Act is not therefore retrospective in the strictly technical sense." 8. Similar view is taken by the Supreme Court in the case of Union of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n India, there may not be any customs duty leviable when the goods entered the territorial water of India. As indicated hereinabove, the importer has no right to say that simply because at the time when the goods entered into the territorial water of India, the goods were not subjected to tax and therefore they shall not be taxed or subjected to customs duty thereafter. If the Act provides that the duty shall be levied at the rate when the goods are cleared from the bonded warehouse or at the time of presentation of the bill of entry, the tax can be levied on such goods even though the goods may not be liable to any tax at the point of time when the goods entered the territorial water of India. Just as in the case of excise duty, the duty of customs can be assessed and collected at the point of time when it may be found administratively most convenient. The only condition is that the character of the duty that it is customs duty should not be lost. It is not even the case of the petitioner that because the goods are subjected to levy of customs duty at the rate prevailing when the goods are cleared from the bonded warehouse, the character of the duty is changed. 12. The learned c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... valuation of imported goods. The Supreme Court observed as follows :- "It is thus, the clear requirement of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act that the rate of duty, rate of exchange and tariff valuation applicable to any imported goods shall be the rate and valuation in force on the date on which the warehoused goods are actually removed from the warehouse. A cross reference to Section 49 of the Act shows that an importer may apply to the Assistant Collector of Customs for permission to store the imported goods in a warehouse pending their clearance, and he may be permitted to do so. The other relevant provision is that contained in Section 68 of the Act which provides that the importer of any warehoused goods may clear them for 'home consumption' if, inter alia, the import duty leviable on them has been paid. That is why clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act makes a reference to Section 68. It is therefore quite clear that the rate of duty, rate of exchange and tariff valuation shall be those in force on the date of actual removal of the warehoused goods from the warehouse." 14. The same position of law is reiterated by the Supreme Court i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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