Concessional duty on short-received imported palm oil remained available where loss before manufacture was negligible and unutilised.

Concessional duty on imported crude palm oil was held admissible where part of the consignment was short delivered at the port and part was lost during transport by evaporation, spillage and accident. The court noted that the goods were not wholly available to the assessee, the loss was negligible against the total import, and the Revenue failed to show any alternate use of the short-received or lost quantity. On that factual basis, denial of the concession merely because the full intended quantity did not reach manufacture of vanaspati was not justified, and the appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether concessional rate of duty was admissible on imported crude palm oil that was not received in full or was lost before use in the manufacture of vanaspati.

Analysis: The imported goods were not wholly available to the assessee. Part of the quantity was short delivered at the port, and part was lost due to evaporation, spillage and accident during transport. The loss was negligible in relation to the total quantity imported. The Revenue did not show that the short received or lost goods were used for any other purpose. In these circumstances, the imported oil that never reached the assessee could not be denied the concessional rate merely because the full intended quantity was not put to manufacture.

Conclusion: The concessional rate of duty remained admissible on the short received and lost quantity, and the appeal failed.

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