1996 (7) TMI 274

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....e appeared for the appellant. The department was represented by Shri R.A. Shiekh, JDR. 3. The brief facts of the case are as follows: The appellants are an export oriented unit located in Kandla Free Trade Zone. They imported capital goods in four different consignments and filed Bills of Entry for clearance thereof. The jurisdictional Additional Collector held that these goods were imported in excess of the projected value and that at the time of importation thereof, the prior approval of the Development Commissioner of the Free Trade Zone had not been obtained. After hearing the present appellant, the Additional Collector proceeded to order confiscation of the goods in each case and prescribed redemption fines in addition to ap....

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....tay under Section 129E of the Customs Act and directed the Tribunal to consider the applications and to dispose of the same according to law. 4. In pursuance of the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the present stay applications have been filed. 5. Shri Habbu, ld. Advocate claimed that the Assistant Collector had erred in the interpretation of Notification No. 77/80-Cus., dated 17-4-1980. He had held that under the notification, a valid licence was required which the appellants did not have. He submitted that vide the provisions of OGL No. 19/88, dated 13-3-1988, the capital goods for their use, imported by actual users into Free Trade Zone did not require a licence. The same provisions existed in the later Order No. 20/19....

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.... stay. Shri R.A. Shiekh, ld. JDR maintained that the Additional Collector was correct in holding that for the benefit of Notification No. 77/80-Cus. to be extended, prior approval of Development Commissioner was necessary. It is the stipulated in Condition No. 4 requiring the importer to execute a bond. Since the importer had not done so, the contravention was clearly established. 7. We have carefully considered the submissions made by both sides and have also perused the cited documents. 8. The impugned notification permitting duty free importation of goods in Free Trade Zone prescribes a number of conditions to be fulfilled by the importer. The original authority has questioned the compliance of the two conditions on the o....