TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (6) TMI 677
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....Brief facts 3. The brief facts giving rise to this appeal are that the Appellant raised demand notices of varied amounts dated 13th October 2011, 7th April 2012, 29th October 2011, as also 7th April 2012 respectively against the respondents, alleging mis-declaration of goods; for consignments sent through the Indian Railways. The respondents paid the demands raised and thereafter, preferred separate claim petitions under Section 16 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987, before the Railway Claims Tribunal Hereafter "the Tribunal", Guwahati Bench, seeking a refund of the amount paid. It was stated therein that the demand notices being issued after the delivery of the goods were illegal in view of Sections 73 and 74 of the Railways Act, 1....
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....91, permit recovery of dues before the delivery of goods. (b) The scope of Section 83 of the Act has been dealt by this Court in Jagjit Cotton Textile Mills v. Chief Commercial Superintendent N.R. and Ors. (1998) 5 SCC 126 , wherein it was held that punitive charges are required to be raised by the Railway authorities before delivery is caused. (c) From a perusal of Sections 73 and 78 of the Act, it is revealed that penal charges can be claimed prior to the delivery of goods, but not thereafter. 8. Dissatisfied, the appellant-Railway authorities are now before us. We have heard the learned Additional Solicitor General for the appellant and the learned counsel for the respondents. Case of the Appellant - Railway Authorities 9. The sig....
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....the carriage of goods. Section 66 reads as follows: "66. Power to require statement relating to the description of goods.- (1) The owner or a person having charge of any goods which are brought upon a railway for the purposes of carriage by railway, and the consignee or the endorsee of any consignment shall, on the request of any railway servant authorised in this behalf, deliver to such railway servant a statement in writing signed by such owner or person or by such consignee or endorsee, as the case may be, containing such description of the goods as would enable the railway servant to determine the rate for such carriage. (2) If such owner or person refuses or neglects to give the statement as required under sub-section (1) and r....
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....f such detention and examination shall be borne by such owner or person, the consignee or the endorsee, as the case may be, and the railway administration shall not be liable for any loss, damage or deterioration which may be caused by such detention or examination." (Emphasis supplied) 14. It is borne from the above that a consignee/owner of goods/person having charge of goods who has brought goods for the purpose of carriage has to give the Railway authorities a written statement regarding the description of the goods, to enable them to charge the appropriate rate of carriage. Under sub-section (4), if the statement is found to be materially false, the Railway authority is empowered to charge the goods at the required rate. No refere....
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.... and (iii) correct any other error or collect any amount that may have been omitted to be charged." ( Emphasis supplied ) 16. We have perused the demand notices annexed as Annexure P-1 dated 13th October, 2011, Annexure P-2 dated 29th October, 2011, Annexure P-3 dated 7th April, 2012 and Annexure P-4 dated 7th April, 2012. It is evident from the contents thereof that the demand was raised for misdeclaration by the respondents. No reference has been made to the overloading of wagon, to which Section 73 applies. More so, even the claim petitions do not propose that the demand notices have been for the overloading of wagon. Therefore, in our view, Section 66 applies to the present lis. 17. Furthermore, we are not inclined to accept the s....