9911796707
TMI Blog1986 (6) TMI 47X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... etition. The firm of M/s. Chinubhai Kalidas Brothers as constituted from time to time carried on business of clearing, forwarding and shipping agents since the year 1917 A.D. at Bombay Port. The firm consisted originally of four partners, namely, S/Shri Arvind Surendrabhai, Ashwin Surendrabhai, Kantilal N. Patel and Smt. Purnima Atul Sheth. This firm was constituted under a deed of partnership dated September 15, 1978. It appears that the said firm made an application dated August 1, 1984 to respondent No. 2 for issue of Customs House Agents Licence to work as Customs House Agents at Ahmedabad. The Collector of Customs, Ahmedabad respondents No. 2 herein granted temporary licence being Licence No. 3 of 1984 dated September 14, 1984 to the said firm authorising the firm to transact business as Customs House Agents at Ahmedabad Customs House for a period of one year on the condition that the said work would be transacted through either Shri Arvind Surendrabhai or Shri Ashwin Surendrabhai. The said firm was also granted licence to act as Customs House Agents for the port of Bombay dated August 25, 1984. It appears further that Shri Kantilal Nagindas Patel, a partner of the said firm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 85 submitted an application in Form A for fresh licence and also requested the Additional Collector that the Petitioner firm be allowed to continue to work under the old licence till such time as the Additional Collector's office might take for grant of fresh licence. The request was again reiterated in the reminder dated September 10, 1985. The Assistant Collector, Kundla by his letter of September 13, 1985 requested the Petitioner to furnish the registration certificate of the firm by return of post. The Petitioner firm by its letter of September 25, 1985 informed the Assistant Collector, Kundla that the amended registration certificate would be available only after three or four months and, therefore, forwarded the photo copies of Form E intimating the change in the constitution of the firm to the Registrar of Firms. It appears that the Superintendent of Customs, Ahmedabad by his letter dated September 23, 1985 called for an explanation from the petitioner for delay which has taken place in making the application for fresh licence under Regulation 16(1) which required the intimation as to the change in the constitution of the firm to be sent within 30 days thereof. The petitione ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e may shortly refer to the scheme as contained in the Regulations. Under Regulation 4 licence for customs house agents can be granted pursuant to the invitation of applications as prescribed in the said Regulation. Under Regulation 5 an application for licence to act as a customs house agent is to be made in Form A and where the applicant is a partnership firm, the names and addresses of every partner and the name of the partner or his duly authorised employee who are to be actually engaged in the clearance of goods or consignments through the customs are required to be stated. Regulation 8 deals with the grant of temporary licence which is granted in Form B. Regulation 16 which is a material regulation for purposes of this petition reads as under : "16. Change in constitution of a firm. - (1) In the case of any firm being a licencee any change in the constitution thereof shall be reported to the Collector as early as possible and any such firm indicating such change shall make a fresh application to the said Collector within thirty days for the grant of licence under Regulation 5 or Regulation 10 as the case may be. On scrutiny of such application the Collector may grant to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... called that the Collector of Customs had granted temporary licence being Licence No. 3 of 1984 dated September 14, 1984 to the old firm authorising the firm to transact the business as Customs House Agents at Ahmedabad Customs House for a period of one year on the condition that the work would be transacted through either Arvind Surendra or Ashwin Surendra. The petitioner firm had, therefore made an application dated August 10, 1985 for renewal of the said temporary licence for a further period of one year. This application was rejected since in the opinion of the Customs Authorities, an application for fresh licence would be required as the old firm had undergone a change in the constitution on 4th June, 1985 on account of the death of its one of the partners and the temporary licence was not capable of being renewed. The petitioner, therefore, under the cover of the letter of September 2, 1985 forwarded to the Additional Collector of Customs, Ahmedabad an application in Form A duly filled in and signed by all the five partners and requested that they may be allowed to continue to work as clearing agents at Ahmedabad Customs House under the old licence till such time as the Additi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ployee as a partner. On the recognised principles of interpretation of statute, provisions dealing with the specific contingencies apply strictly on those contingencies arising and would not control or circumscribe the general provision made in that behalf. The specific contingencies provided for in clauses (2) and (3) would not thus control the general provision made in clause (1). It is no doubt true that all these three provisions made in the respective clauses have been made in respect of the general topic of a change occurring in the constitution of a firm. It would not be correct to construe clauses (2) and (3) as over-riding clause (1). If an applicant firm is not precisely covered under either clause (2) or clause (3), it would lose its right of making an application for securing the licence for business under clause (1). The interpretation which has found favour with the authorities would make clause (1) totally redundant and otiose. The cases are not difficult to conceive when a partnership firm continuing business with the surviving partners after the death of a partner seeks to reconstitute the firm by inducting the heir of the deceased partner as well as a new partner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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