2013 (4) TMI 810

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....s at Krishnapatnam Port, Andhra Pradesh in not permitting clearance of the Steam Coal imported by the petitioners from time under different Bills of Entries. 2. In some of the writ petitions, the consignments of coal imported by the writ petitioners were also seized/detained by the Superintendent of the Customs (Imports), Krishnapatnam Port and therefore a further relief is sought to withdraw and/or cancel the impugned detention orders. 3. Pending the writ petitions, the petitioners in all the writ petitions sought a direction to the respondents to forthwith permit the clearance of Steam Coal imported or to be imported by the petitioners. 4. We have heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and also the learned S....

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....the Customs Officials, the Bill of Entry as well as all the other connected documents and on the basis of the same the provisional assessment under Section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962 was carried out and the provisional duty bond was also extended by the petitioners in terms of Section 18 of the Customs Act read with Provisional Duty Bond Regulations, 1963. 8. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners vehemently contended that having regard to the fact that provisional assessment was already carried out under Section 18 of the Act and all the petitioners had paid the provisional assessment duty apart from executing the bond for payment of the deficiency, if any, on the final assessment, the respondents have no power or autho....

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....s made by the parties as well as the provisions of the Customs Act, 1961 it appears to us that the question whether the respondents have any power or authority to detain the consignment in respect of which the provisional assessment is already made under Section 18 of the Act is a larger issue which requires consideration in the main writ petitions. 13. So far as the interim relief is concerned, admittedly, the consignment lying at the port has already been seized. Moreover, a fresh notification has been issued on 1-3-2013 by the Union Government in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) placing the imports of Bituminous coal also on the same position as imports of Steam coal. Thus, with effect from 1-3-2013, the Customs du....