Case Law Details
Union of India Vs A. B. P. Pvt Ltd (Supreme Court of India)
Supreme Court held that amended notification no. 164 of 2003 dated 11th November 2003 shifting the concessional benefit from “High Speed Cold-Set Web Offset Rotary Printing Machine with minimum speed of 70,000 copies per hour” to “High Speed Cold-set Web Offset Rotary Double Width Four Plate Wide Printing Machine with a minimum speed of 70,000 copies per hour” is in line with provision of section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962.
Facts- Notification no. 86 of 2003 was amended vide notification no. 164 of 2003. Accordingly, the Amended Notification shifted the benefit of the concessional rate from “High Speed Cold-Set Web Offset Rotary Printing Machine with minimum speed of 70,000 copies per hour” to “High Speed Cold-set Web Offset Rotary Double Width Four Plate Wide Printing Machine with a minimum speed of 70,000 copies per hour”.
Assesee filed a writ before the High Court for declaring the Amended Notification ultra vires Section 25(1) of the Customs Act 1962 (hereafter, “the Act”) and thus sought, a declaration for withdrawal of the Amended Notification.
A single judge bench set aside the amended notification on the ground that no intelligible differentia existed for granting concession on one type of machinery and withdrawing concession to other types of machinery. The court therefore, directed that the exemption be granted to the imported machinery of the assessee. Aggrieved by the order of the single judge bench, the Union preferred an appeal to the Division Bench of the High Court. The High Court by its impugned judgment upheld the judgment and order of the single judge bench.
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