TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (1) TMI 664
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....cing. 2. The Petitioners have approached this Court seeking grant of extension of two months to enable them to complete the import of "poppy seeds", for which registration certificates have been issued by the Central Bureau of Narcotics (hereinafter, 'CBN'). The Petitioners also pray for quashing and setting aside the impugned order dated 21st October, 2020, passed by the Director, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, by which the representation of the Petitioners seeking an extension for completing the imports was also rejected. 3. The brief background in these cases is that the Petitioners are importers of "poppy seeds". The Petitioners in W.P.(C) 8668/2020, W.P.(C) 8669/2020, W.P.(C) 8670/2020, W.P.(C) 8671/2020 and W.P.(C) 8676/2020 had entered into sales contracts for import of poppy seeds with one M/s Gansu Puankang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., - a Chinese exporter. In terms of the contracts, the importers have paid 80% of the consideration in advance in some petitions and 30% advance in some petitions. Some portion of the goods have already been imported. However, the entire quantum is yet to be imported. The details of the sales contracts qua each ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....eir representation in accordance with law. The operative portion of one of the said orders, is set out below: "2. It is the case of the petitioner that the registration granted to the petitioner under the Guidelines dated 25.09.2019 was to expire on 17.03.2020. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic, the exporter in China expressed its inability to make the supplies of the poppy seeds within the time granted. The petitioner accordingly filed an application seeking extension of the time for import with the respondent no. 1. Such representation is stated to be still pending with the respondent no.1. On the other hand, the exporter from China has now issued a communication dated 14.09.2020, informing the petitioner that in case the petitioner is unable to get an extension of the registration on or before 30.09.2020, it shall forfeit the advance paid as also blacklist the petitioner from future dealings. 3. Keeping in view the submissions made, the respondent no. 1 is directed to grant an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner on its application seeking extension of the validity of the registration, on 29.09.2020 at 12.30 noon. The Officer before whom the petitioner has to appe....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....o paid the entire amount of consideration to the exporter. 8. On the other hand, Mr. Anil Soni, ld. CGSC, appearing for the Government submits that the Government has considered the representations of the Petitioners. A fair hearing has already been given and the reasoning of the Government does not deserve interference inasmuch as poppy seeds are a regulated commodity, and due to the import of the same being a controlled measure, this would solely be a policy decision of the Government. 9. Mr. Amit Mahajan, ld. CGSC, appearing on behalf of the Respondents submits that there are quotas which are usually fixed for importing of limited quantities of poppy seeds, and any out of turn extension granted would interfere with the quota which is already fixed. He submits that though the affidavit already filed may not be satisfactory, he is willing to file a further affidavit to explain this position. Mr. Mahajan finally submits that the rationale adopted by the Government in regulating the import of poppy seeds ought not be interfered with. 10. Heard counsels for the parties. A perusal of the impugned order dated 21st May, 2020, shows that the Union of India has considered merely factua....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....orter as per their convenience. 4. Further, it appears that there was adequate time available to the petitioner to import the poppy seeds from China even before impact of COVID- 19 Pandemic. It is further mentioned that 1802 MTs of poppy seeds were imported by the various importers by the end of Feb, 2020 out of registered quantity of 2499 MTs of Poppy seeds. Therefore, the reasons attributed by petitioners for non import of poppy seeds within validity period of four months i.e 17.03.2020, are not adequate. It is also not obligatory on the part of Government of India to extend the period of registration of sales contract for import of poppy seeds." 11. A perusal of the guidelines for the registration of sales contracts for import of poppy seeds from China, issued on 25th September, 2019, shows that there is a country cap which is fixed by the Narcotics Commissioner on the basis of the figures supplied by the respective competent authority in China. However, what is important is that as per the guidelines, the only recognized company for the supply of poppy seeds is M/s Gansu Puankang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. The relevant portion of the guidelines is extracted herein below: "I D....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ned order provides is that there is no justification for not having completed the supplies prior to March, 2020. This court is of the opinion that this reasoning is not acceptable, as it seeks to completely ignore the fact that the outbreak had begun earlier in China, as compared to India, and COVID-19 related problems were present in China in February, leading to the non-supply of the said consignments. 15. The sales contracts in these petitions also show that substantial advance amounts have been paid by the Petitioners to the Chinese exporter and the total value of the contracts range between USD 106,250 - USD 273,700. The Petitioners being Indian importers, who have paid huge sums of money to the Chinese company, which is the only recognized company for the import of poppy seeds from China, would be put to severe financial difficulties if the extension is not granted. They may not be able to recover the advances paid. Considering that the pandemic has had a debilitating effect on Indian businesses, including Indian importers and exporters, there seems to be no rationale whatsoever to refuse extension. Moreover, the threat that the Chinese company may not enter into further tra....