2025 (3) TMI 860

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....n be levied for imports made by the Petitioner under two Bills of Entry namely, Bill of Entry Nos. 4874284 and 4873945 both dated 2nd March 2023, in so far as it relates to the goods mentioned therein, for installation in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and in International Waters. Since according to the Petitioner, the Fibre-optic Cables brought in by the Petitioner under the aforesaid Bills of Entry are to be installed in the Exclusive Economic Zone and International Waters, no duty is payable and the Petitioner, therefore, seeks a part refund of the duty paid under a mistake. After the filing of this Petition, a show cause notice has also been issued by Respondent No. 3 to the Petitioner asking the Petitioner to show cause as to why th....

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....rposes for which the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 has been extended to these territories. It is on this basis that the Petitioner seeks the reliefs more particularly set out by us above. 3. We have heard Mr. Shroff, the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner, as well as the learned advocate appearing for the customs department. Prima facie, we find considerable force in the arguments canvassed by Mr. Shroff. Under Section 2 (27) of the Customs Act, 1962 "India" is defined to include the territorial waters of India. The Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (for short the "Territorial Waters Act") gives power to the Central Government to ....

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....signated area, the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 is extended to the Continental Shelf and the EEZ only for this limited purpose. Since there is no dispute in the present case that the Fibre-optic Cables imported by the Petitioner are not for the purposes as mentioned in the Notification dated 7th February 2002, we find that a strong prima facie case is made by the Petitioner and which really goes to the root of the matter, namely, whether the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, at all apply to the Continental Shelf and to the EEZ with reference to the goods imported by the Petitioner. 4. Since arguable questions are raised, we issue Rule. The Respondents waive service. 5. Since the 3rd Respondent has i....