Customs duty on oil in ship-breaking tanks remanded for fresh adjudication where no specific finding was recorded.

Customs duty on oil remaining in bunker tanks outside the engine room of a vessel imported for ship-breaking required fresh adjudication because the impugned order addressed only the tank within the engine room and recorded no specific finding on the other tanks. Relying on the earlier Tribunal ruling in Navyug Ship Breaking Co., the Tribunal held that the duty attributable to oil in those tanks had to be decided by a speaking order on the merits. The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for reconsideration in accordance with that ruling.

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Issues: Whether the demand of customs duty on oil contained in tanks of a ship imported for breaking purposes, in respect of tanks outside the engine room, required reconsideration and fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The impugned order dealt only with the tank contained within the engine room and did not record a specific finding on tanks outside the engine room. Reliance was placed on the earlier Tribunal decision in Navyug Ship Breaking Co., which had directed a speaking order on duty attributable to oil contained in bunker tanks outside the engine room where the issue had not been specifically adjudicated.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for decision in terms of the earlier Tribunal ruling.

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