Case Law Details
Pam Agro Industries Vs Union of India (Gujarat High Court)
It is not in dispute that the petitioners imported cashew kernel (broken) from Vietnamese suppliers for a price ranging from Rs. 151/- to Rs. 180 /- per kg in Indian currency which is the transaction value ordinarily required to be considered for levy of custom duty as per provision of section 14 of the Customs Act.
Vide Notification no. 53 (RE-2013)/2009-2014 dated 2nd December, 2013 minimum price for import of Cashew Kernel (brokens) and Cashew Kernel (wholes) is fixed to Rs. 288/- per Kg and Rs. 400/- per kg respectively.
On perusal of the above notification, it is clear that the same is issued under section 5 of the Foreign Trade Act read with paragraph no. 2.1 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2009-2014, as amended from time to time by prescribing the minimum CIF value of cashew kernels under Chapter 8 of ITC (HS) 2012, Schedule 1 (Import Policy) per kilogram being Rs. 288/- for cashew kernel (broken) for HS Code 0801 32 10 and Rs. 400/- for cashew kernel (whole) for HS Code 0801 32 20. Since 2013, the MIP for two different categories of cashew kernels broken and whole are in existence.
The power to issue such notification by the Director General of Foreign Trade came up for consideration before the Calcutta High Court in case of Bimal Kumar Modi (supra), wherein the notification dated 13.5.2013 issued by DGFT fixing the CIF value of betel-nut (areca-nut ) was under challenge. The Calcutta High Court after considering the history and relevant provisions of the law, came to the conclusion that such notification cannot be sustained from whichever angle it is viewed and accordingly, the same was quashed and set aside. However, Madras High Court in case of S. Mira Commodities Pvt. Ltd (supra), considering the similar notification dated 4.6.2008 issued by the DGFT with regard to restricting the import of betel nuts valued at Rs.35/- or more per kg., held that the DGFT has no power to issue the notification under section 5 read with section 6(3) of the Foreign Trade Act on artificial basis. It was further held that no material data has been furnished for arriving at the figure of Rs. 35/- per kg of the
Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.
