Customs duty demanded on electrical energy supplied from an SEZ...

Customs duty demanded on electrical energy supplied from an SEZ to the DTA was held ultra vires because, in substance, there was no "import into India" to trigger Section 12 of the Customs Act, making the absence of a taxable event a jurisdictional defect; delegated "exemption" powers could not be inverted to create a levy, and retrospective imposition also offended Article 265. Consequently, later notifications altering rate or purporting to apply prospectively could not cure the foundational lack of authority, and relief could not be denied merely for want of a fresh, specific challenge to each later notification. A co-ordinate Bench was bound by the earlier declaration unless referred to a larger Bench; the contrary approach was impermissible, so the appeal was allowed. - SC

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