TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (5) TMI 163
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....on M/s. JNPT under Section 112(a) and 112 (b) of the Customs Act, 1962. Aggrieved of the same, the appellant is before us. 3. The facts relating to the case as follows: 3.1 M/s. Nhava Sheva Port Trust (NSPT) now known as 'Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust' (JNPT) awarded a contract (termed as contract III) dated 15/12/1986 to M/s. Samsung Co. Ltd., South Korea for setting up the NSPT Port Project. In the said contract, NSPT has been termed as the 'Employer' and M/s. Samsung Co. Ltd. as the 'Contractor'. 3.2 Pursuant to the said contract, M/s. Samsung Co. Ltd. imported Container Handling Equipment and spares for NSPT Project between 1988 and 1990. However, before clearance of the goods, it sought to avail itself of the project import benefit under the Projects Imports Regulations, 1986. Accordingly, it applied for registration of the Contract-III to the then Assistant Collector of Customs Project Cell, New Custom House, Bombay vide its letter dated 12/09/1988. 3.3 The Assistant Collector of Customs registered the said contract provisi....
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....rores on NSPT under Section 112(a)(ii) and Section 112(b) of the said Act. The Commissioner also imposed a penalty of Rs. 5 Crores on Samsung Co. Ltd. under Section 112(a)(ii) of the said Act. Aggrieved of the same, M/s. JNPT is before us. 3.7. Revenue is also in appeal against the said order for the reason that though the adjudicating authority confirmed the duty demand, he failed to confirm the demand towards interest holding that interest cannot be demanded for the period prior to 13/07/2006 inasmuch as there were no legal provision for recovery of interest in the case of provisional assessment prior to the said date. 4. The learned counsel for the appellant made the following submissions: 4.1 In terms of the Project Import Regulations 1986, as it stood at the relevant time, there was no requirement of a recommendatory letter/certificate from the sponsoring authority or from the Director General of Technical Development. 4.2 The goods required for the project are covered by a licence issued by the Joint Chief Controller of Imports and E....
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....deserves to be set aside. 5. The learned special Consultant appearing for the Revenue, on the other hand, contends that as per the public notice issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai vide Bombay Custom House Public Notice No. 2/88 dated 14/03/1988, for registration of contracts under Project Import Regulations, recommendatory letter for duty concession from the concerned sponsoring authority as provided for in para 288 of the ITC Handbook was required. The appellant did not produce such a recommendation. In the correspondence exchanged between the department and M/s. Samsung Co. Ltd. and M/s. JNPT, M/s. Samsung Co. Ltd. vide letter dated 07/10/1988 had informed the department that they would be producing the said certificate through JNPT from the concerned Ministry at the earliest and also that the benefit of concession would be passed on to M/s. JNPT. In the said letter, they had further confirmed that customs duty would be paid directly by M/s. JNPT on all the equipment and spares imported under the contract. This position was reiterated by M/s. JNPT vide letter dated 15/10/1988 sent to M/s. Samsung Co. Ltd. Further, vide leter dated 20/12/1988, M/s. Samsung Co. Ltd. inf....
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.... Regulation 5 of the Project Import Regulations 1986, stipulates the documents required to be submitted for registration of the contract and the said provision reads as follows:- "The application shall be accompanied by the original deed of contract together with a true copy thereof, the import trade control licence, wherever required, specifically describing the articles licensed to be imported or an approved list of items from the Directorate General of Technical Development or the concerned sponsoring authority, in the case of imports covered by Open General Licence or imports made by Central Government, any State Government, statutory Corporation, public body or Government undertaking run as a joint stock company." 6.2 Subsequently, this condition was amended w.e.f. 10/03/1992 and the revised provisions read as follows: "4) The application shall be accompanied by the original deed of contract together with a true copy thereof, the import trade control licence, wherever required, and an approved list of items from the Directorate General of Technical Development or the concerned sponso....