TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2008 (2) TMI 352
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....ays Authority of India, claiming the benefit of exemption under Notification 84/97-Cus dated 11.11.1997. The Bill of Entry was assessed provisionally on two counts. Firstly, the test Report had to be received to ascertain whether the imported goods are exactly as per the declaration. The second point is that there was some doubt with regard to the entitlement of the benefit of the exemption because the Project for which the import has been effected was funded by Japan Bank of International Cooperation(JBIC in short) and there was a doubt as to whether the said organization would be covered by the Notification. Later, it was revealed that the said Organization was not covered within the ambit of the Notification. To this effect, there was a ....
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....in case the goods are intended to be used in a project financed by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank or any other International Organization other than those listed in the Annexure. In the Annexure to the Notification, certain Organizations are listed. Therefore, the International Organization, which funds the Project, should be other than the Organizations mentioned in the Annexure. In the Explanation to the Notification, the definition of 'international organization' has been given. 'International Organisation' means an international organisation to which the Central Government has declared, in pursuance of Section 3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947 (46 of 1947), that the provisions of the Schedule to t....
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.... was 3-4-2001 to 31-1-2001 and the cancellation has been done on 18-1-2002. The Tribunal, in their case as cited supra, clearly held that they have acted under bona fide belief and that they were eligible for the benefit of the Notification in terms of the Certificates granted by the concerned authority. It was held that the blame cannot be shifted on them and demands cannot be confirmed for the larger period. The Tribunal set aside the demands and the penalty. Even in terms of the several judgments cited, we find that when imports had been made under a licence issued under the EXIM Policy, the same had been held to be valid when the said licence had been cancelled after a lapse of time. These judgments clearly apply to the facts of the cas....
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....46 of 1947) and further clarified that if the financing is not done by such organization, the benefit of such Notification cannot be availed." The point emphasized by the learned Departmental Representative is that the case-laws cited by the appellants are distinguishable in the sense that in those cases, the assessment was not provisional. However, in the present case, the Revenue had kept the assessment provisional and once it is known that the appellants are not entitled for the benefit of the Notification, the assessments are finalized demanding the duty, which was not collected earlier. He added that if the assessment is provisional for one purpose, it will be provisional for all purposes. 7. On a very careful consideration of the is....
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....me of import, the assessments were kept provisional. This is clear on seeing the Bill of Entry. When the assessment is provisional, the Revenue can always finalise it by demanding the appropriate duty. Coming to the Notification itself, in terms of the explanation to the notification, the funding organisation should be an International Organisation. Once it is made clear by the Ministry of Finance and also accepted by the line Ministry, which is the Ministry of Surface Transport that the JBIC is not an International Organisation in pursuance of Section (3) of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947, then ab initio, the appellants were not entitled for the said exemption. Of course, they had the Certificate from Compet....