2023 (7) TMI 840

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....was issued with the show-cause notice dated 14.01.2009 demanding customs duty amounting to Rs.91,05,880/-. The Master of the vessel Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV) Sagar Sampada owned by the appellant had imported ship spares in large quantity onboard the vessel after filing reshipment application instead of Bill of Entry and without paying any customs duty, hence, the show-cause notice. 2. It was noticed that during 18.1.2008 to 29.12.2008, 56 reshipment applications were filed on behalf of FORV Sagar Sampada and ship spares valued at Rs.2,87,22,089/- were cleared to onboard the vessel without payment of any customs duty. The Commissioner of Customs held that Section 12 of the Customs Act, 1962 renders all imported goods li....

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....eign going vessel and permitted duty-free supply of diesel oil and lubricating oil subject to the condition that other items of stores in the nature of liquor, cigarettes and food stuffs will not be permitted free of duty. In the permission given by CBEC, nowhere the words 'spares' has been categorically mentioned, hence, it was not for the Commissioner to interpret 'Stores' as per Section 2(38) to include the item 'spares' which had been permitted by CBEC. 3.1 The alternative argument taken by the learned counsel for the appellant is that even if the above benefit for the foreign going vessel was to be rejected, they were eligible for the exemption vide Notification No.21/2002 which is meant for Ocean Going Vessels. Sl. No. Chapte....

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....th sides. 6. It is an admitted fact that FORV Sagar Sampada is a Scientific Research Vessel and the CBEC vide letter D.O.F No.445/3/98-Cus. IV dated 30.05.1988 considered the vessel as foreign going vessel, which reads as below: GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE CENTRAL BOARD OF EXCISE AND CUSTOMS D.O.F. NO. 445/3/88-CUS.IV New Delhi, the 30th May, 1988 "Please refer to correspondence resting with your D.O. letter No. DOD/FORV/8/84(P) dated the 26th May, 1988 regarding request vessels 'Sagar Sampada' and 'Sagar Kanya'. 2. Having regard to the fact that both 'Sagar Kanya' and 'Sagar Sampada' are solely engaged in research work and in survey of living resources in the hi....

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....efinition for Ocean-Going Vessel which is reproduced below: Explanation - "Ocean Going Vessels" includes:- (a) Liners; cargo-vessel of various kinds including refrigerator vessels for the transport of meat, fruit or the like, vessels specified for the transport of particular goods (grain, coal, ores or the like); tankers (petrol, wine or the like); yachts and other sailing vessels; cable ships; ice-breakers; floating factories of all kinds (for processing whales, preserving fish or the like) whale catchers; trawlers and other fishing vessels; life boats, scientific research vessels; weather ships; vessels for the transportation or mooring of buoys; pilot boats; hooper barges for the disposal of dredged material or the like....