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TMI Blog1995 (4) TMI 63X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ta V. Manohar, JJ. [Judgment per : Sujata V. Manohar, J.]. - The appellants imported 5000 metric tonnes of white cement which arrived at the Port of Bombay on or about 17-11-1984. The appellants filed Bills of Entry for home consumption in respect of the goods so imported and sought clearance of the said goods as an Open General Licence Item under Appendix 6 List 8 Part III Item 33 of the Import and Export Policy for April 1984-March 1985. Clearance, however, was not permitted. The respondents issued a show-cause notice claiming that white cement was not importable under Open General Licence since it was a canalised item under Appendix 5 Part B Serial No. 8 of the Import and Export Policy for April 1984-March 1985. The show-cause not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... notice were dismissed by the High Court by its judgment and order dated 23rd of March, 1994. The High Court held that white cement did not fall under Appendix 6 List 8 Part III Item 33 and could not be imported as an Open General Licence Item. The High Court held that white cement was covered by Appendix 5 Part B Serial No. 8 and was a canalised item. The present appeals are from the above judgment and order of the High Court. 4.Under the Import and Export Policy for April 1984-March 1985, Chapter 22 lays down Rules for the interpretation of the policy. Paragraph 242(f) provides, "Any item in Appendices 2 to 5 or 8 with a specific or a generic description, will preclude the eligibility to its import under Open General Licence, except whe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be made only by the State Trading Corporation of India on the basis of foreign exchange released by the Government of India in its favour; and (2) import, distribution and pricing will be made by the State Trading Corporation as per the connected policy of Government in the Ministry of Industry. The item, therefore, refers to the policy of the Government in the Ministry of Industry in connection with import of cement and specifically states that import by the State Trading Corporation shall be governed by such policy. 7.The policy of the Government in the Ministry of Industry is, therefore, directly relevant for the purpose of interpreting this item. In this connection, the Central Government has made an order called the Imported Cement C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 8.The Cement Control Order of 1967 also excludes from the definition of cement, white cement. This Order, however, is under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 and is made for the purpose of securing equitable distribution and availability at fair prices of cement. So this Order will not be of direct relevance while interpreting the entry at Serial No. 8 of Appendix 5 Part B. The Imported Cement Control Order of 1978, however, is of direct relevance for the purpose of interpreting this entry, and a combined reading of both these would clearly show that white cement was not considered as a canalised item under the said entry. The appellants have also relied upon a Press Note issued by the Government of India, Ministry of I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by the Indian Standards Institution under the title "Indian Standard Specifications for Ordinary and Low Heat Portland Cement" which also provides the terminology, manufacturing process, chemical requirements, physical requirements etc. of ordinary portland cement. The chemical requirements of white portland cement and ordinary and low heat portland cement are quite distinct and separate. The learned Single Judge has also observed that the pricing of the two commodities is quite different. Their chemical composition and uses are also quite different, and in the commercial world, the two are treated as different commodities. He has, therefore, held that for the purposes of import, white cement is not a canalised item at Serial No. 8 of Appe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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