Recovery of short-levied port charges upheld where supplementary bills were issued within the statutory limitation period.

Where a statute permits recovery of short-levied port charges by notice within two years of payment, a supplementary demand issued within that period remains valid. The clearing agent's difficulty in recovering the differential from importers or exporters does not extinguish the statutory liability created by the short levy. The applicable by-law required compliance with the Port Trust's charge structure and related conditions, and equitable considerations could not override the express recovery mechanism. The supplementary bills were therefore upheld and the challenge to the demand failed.

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Issues: Whether the Port Trust could lawfully raise supplementary bills for short-levied port charges within the prescribed period and whether the writ petitioner could avoid payment on equitable grounds.

Analysis: The governing provisions empowered the Port Trust to recover charges short levied by issuing notice within two years from the date of payment. The record showed that the undercharging was discovered later, but the supplementary bills were raised within the statutory period. The applicable by-law required the clearing agent to comply with the Port Trust's charge structure and related conditions. The difficulty faced by the clearing agent in recovering the differential amount from importers or exporters did not extinguish the statutory liability created by the short levy. In such a situation, the equitable approach adopted by the single judge could not prevail over the express statutory mechanism for recovery.

Conclusion: The supplementary bills were validly raised and the liability to pay the differential amount subsisted. The challenge to the demand failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute expressly permits recovery of short-levied charges within a prescribed period, equity cannot defeat the statutory liability or invalidate a demand raised in accordance with that procedure.

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