2005 (7) TMI 463

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....e manufacturers of bulk drugs Paracetamol. They obtained Advance Licences under Advance Licensing Scheme for import of Para Nitro Chloro Benzene (PNCB) and Acetic Anhydride. The first item is non-sensitive and the second item is sensitive. With respect to the sensitive item, the licence was issued with both quantity and value restricted with the condition that the individual CIF value of Acetic Anhydride shall not be utilised for import of the other permitted raw materials. In respect of each licence, there is an export obligation. The departmental officers, on investigation, found that the limits prescribed for individual CIF value in respect of imports under the Advance Licences had crossed. Moreover, the total imports also had crossed th....

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.... The order went beyond the show cause notice in appending new tables and on the basis of which the duty demand of Rs. 18,48,597/- had been confirmed which was amounting to adjudicating a case which was totally different from the case which was made out in the show cause notice. This decision having been taken behind the back of the appellants, as no such information was given to them at the time of show cause notice or the personal hearing as was contained in the said annexure of the order impugned, this tantamounted to denial of principles of natural justice." 3.In view of the remand, the original Adjudicating Authority heard the parties again and passed the impugned de novo order dated 12-7-2002. In the de novo order, the Commissioner ....

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....the Bills of Entry extending the duty exemption by accepting the licences produced. It is worth noting that the licence debits were made by the officers and further such debits as well as the assessments made were audited by the Customs Authorities and verified by the department i.e. by the assessing authority as well as by the auditing authority. Only after the above process, the goods were cleared. Hence, there is no point in the allegation that the appellants have mis-stated or suppressed the facts. Once it is held that the PNCB import in excess is not permissible in terms of Notification 203/92, the same Notification cannot be invoked for recovering duty. Notification 203/92 as well as the bond executed may be invoked only in cases wher....