TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1983 (11) TMI 311
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....for clearance of the goods. The licence for clearance of the goods was mentioned as P/K/L/M/2816076/C/XX/71/X/79, dated 27-3-1979 and Telegraphic Release Advice No. S/32-Bom.-Kandla-3/80C dated 5-11-1980 issued by the Asstt. Collector of Customs, Bombay. The licence was held in the name of M/s. United Breweries Ltd., Bangalore. The goods were assessed provisionally under Section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the goods were released on payment of duty of Rs. 5,45,153.40 on 13-11-1980. For reasons set out in the show cause notice dated 14-4-1981 issued under Section 130 of the Customs Act, the Collector of Customs, Ahmedabad appeared to be of the view that the release of the goods against the aforesaid licence and release advice was not cor....
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....tral Government under Section 131 of the Customs Act. The main grounds taken up are : (a) The licence had not been transferred by United Breweries, the licence holder, to Patel Impex, the Letter of Authority (L.A.) holder; (b) The L.A. holder was eligible to get all the facilities under para 174 of the Policy for 1980-81; (c) The Export House, the licence holder, was authorised under para 382 of the Policy to appoint any person as his agent for arranging the imports permitted by the licence; (d) The licence had been issued prior to the imposition of the ban by Public Notice No. 48, dated 9-12-1980 and the said notice could not affect the goods duly imported; (e) The ratio of the Supreme Court's judgme....
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.... items) read : "Palmitic Acid/Palm Fatty Acid." Public Notice 48, dated 9-12-1980 amended the said Item by adding : "Palm stearin/Palm Kernel oil" and stated that the said amendment "shall be deemed to have been made in the said Import Policy at the appropriate place." Now, it was settled law, the Counsel continued, that a Public Notice amending the Import Policy, had no retrospective operation. In this context, the Supreme Court judgment in the Bharat Barrel & Drum Mfg. Co. case and the Bombay High Court judgment in Stretch Fibres case (earlier referred to) were cited. The goods in the present case were imported and cleared. Before the date of coming into force of the ban imposed by Public Notice of 9-12-1980. Even a statuto....
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....rted the goods against the licence held by an export house, it was submitted that this was a question of fact. If the licence holder was an export house and the appellants were Letter of Authority holders, they could be entitled to the benefits of para 382 of the Policy. 8. Shri Jain did not make any submission with regard to the Central Government, and Board's orders cited by Shri Hidayatullah. 9. In his reply, Shri Hidayatulla cited Supreme Court's decision in the case of Cannanore Spinning and Weaving Mills - 1978 E.L.T. 375 and made the point that so long as the authority did not have power to make retrospective amendments, it could only make prospective amendments. 10. We have given careful consideration to the ....
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....t Notification of 16-2-1963 (which defined "hanks"), held that it had no retrospective effect and that the said definition could not be made use of for the purposes of Notification dated 15-9-1962 which it amended. This was despite the fact that the notification of 16-2-1963, in terms, said that it shall be deemed to have taken effect from 17-8-1962. The Court further held that the Central Excise law did not confer any retrospective rule making power on Government. In the Stretch Fibre case (Misc. Petition No. 1419 of 1979 decided on 9-10-11 January, 1980 by the Bombay High Court), the matter was about certain import replenishment and other benefits under the Import Policy for registered exporters as were permissible on the date of regis....