2019 (5) TMI 927

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....g, the issue of the quantity of liquid bulk that, upon imports into India, are to be saddled with duties of customs has been dogged by controversy. While customs authorities insisted that the load port quantity, evidenced by bill of lading, should be the basis, importers would invariably seek to discharge liability on the quantity received as ascertained from the 'shore tank receipt' reports. The Central Board of Excise and Customs, in circular no. 96/2002- Customs dated 27th December 2002, directed that shore tank quantity should determine levy at the effective rate of duty. Thereafter, upon consideration of the issue afresh, Central Board of Excise and Customs by circular no. 6/2006-Customs dated 12th January 2006 distinguished the 'liqui....

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....nstrue the word "imported" occurring in Section 12 and this can only mean that the moment goods have entered the territorial waters the import is complete. We do not agree with the submission. This Court in its opinion in Bill to Amend Section 20 of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 and Section 3 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, Re [AIR 1963 SC 1760 = (1964) 3 SCR 787 sub nom Sea Customs Act (1878), S. 20(2), Re] SCR at p. 823 observed as follows : "Truly speaking, the imposition of an import duty, by and large, results in a condition which must be fulfilled before the goods can be brought inside the customs barriers, i.e., before they form part of the mass of goods within the country." It would appear to us that the import of goods....

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....be found in Section 12 of the said Act. Even when the measure talks of value of imported goods, it does so at the time and place of importation, which again is lost sight of by the Tribunal. And last but not the least, "transaction value" which occurs in the Customs Valuation Rules has to be read under Rules 4 and 9 as reflecting the aforesaid statutory position, namely, that valuation of imported goods is only at the time and place of importation. 17. The Tribunal's reasoning that somehow when customs duty is ad valorem the basis for arriving at the quantity of goods imported changes, is wholly unsustainable. Whether customs duty is at a specific rate or is ad valorem makes not the least difference to the above statutory scheme. Customs....