TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1996 (12) TMI 51
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.... conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as `The Act' ) had exempted levy of customs duty on import of hospital equipments imported by specified category of hospitals (Charitable) subject to certification from the Director General of Health Services. The appellant who had established a Modern Heart Institute and Research Centre at Chandigarh being desirous of importing sophisticated equipments like Stress Test System, Colour Doppler Holter Monitor Recorder, Tread Mill Test Machine, applied to the Director General for issuance of a certificate so that the machinery imported would not be liable for levy of customs duty. The Respondent No. 2, by his letter dated 2-2-1993 after scrutinising the project report submitted by the appellant and on being satisfied that the import of the equipments are essential for use in any hospital granted certificate for importing Marquette Max though the appellant was intending to import Marquette Case 15. On receipt of the certificate dated 2-2-1993 the appellant applied for amendment of the exemption certificate. But no action was taken by the Respondent No. 2. Ultimately the imported equipment arri....
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....conclusion that the conditions precedent have not been satisfied. Mr. Jaitley, learned senior counsel lastly urged that similar Diagnostic Centres as that of the appellant have already been granted exemption certificate by Respondent No. 2 on the basis of which equipments in such Diagnostic Centres have been imported without payment of customs duty and refusal in the case of the appellant is a hostile discrimination without any reasonable nexus and as such must be held to be arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and, therefore, a Writ of Mandamus must be issued to Respondent No. 2 for grant of certificate of exemption. 6.Mr. Mahajan, learned senior Counsel appearing for the Union of India, on the other hand contended, that the High Court rightly came to the conclusion that a Diagnostic Centre will not come under the purview of the exemption notification and there is no error in such conclusion of the High Court which requires to be interfered with by this Court in exercise of power under Article 136 of the Constitution. The learned senior Counsel further contended that the exemption notification having indicated certain obligations on the part of the person who....
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....ndition to be satisfied by the hospitals in question which intend to import the equipment before claiming the exemption under the notification. The said conditions are enumerated in the Table to the notification which is extracted hereinbelow :- All such hospitals as may be certified by the said Ministry"1. of Health and Family Welfare to be run or substantially aided by such charitable organisation as may be approved, from time to time, by the said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. All such hospitals which may be certified by the said2. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in each case, to be run for providing medical, surgical or diagnostic treatment not only without any distinction of caste, creed, race, religion or language but also, - Free, on an average, to at least 40% of all their outdoor(a) patients; and Free to all indoor patients belonging to families with an(b) income of less than rupees five hundred per month, and keeping for this purpose at least 10 per cent of all the hospital beds reserved for such patients; and at reasonable charges, either on the basis of the income of(c) the patients concerned or otherwise, to patients other than those specified in Cl....
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.... the said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare or from the Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India, within such period as the Assistant Collector of Customs may specify in this behalf or within such extended period as the Assistant Collector of Customs, on sufficient cause being shown, may allow in each case, to the effect :- that such hospital equipment has been installed in the(i) hospital ; and that such hospital has started functioning;(ii) the importer shall furnish, at the appropriate time, the(c) certificates referred to in (b); the importer executes a bond in such form and for such sum(d) as may be specified by the Assistant Collector of Customs binding himself to pay, on demand an amount equal to the duty leviable on the said hospital equipment :- if such hospital starts functioning within the period(i) specified therefore, as is not proved to the satisfaction of the Assistant Collector of Customs to have been installed in such hospital, or if such hospital does not start functioning within the(ii) period specified therefore. EXPLANATION for the purposes of this notification, the expression Hospital includes any Institution, Centre, Trust, Soc....
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....me to be filed on behalf of the respondents nor in course of hearing the Counsel appearing for the respondents was able to advance any argument on that score. In this view of the matter when other Diagnostic Centres have been already granted the certificate enabling them to import equipments without paying customs duty in terms of the notification issued by the Central Government under Section 25(1) of the Customs Act we see no reason to deny the said exemption certificate to the appellant. On facts alleged it cannot be disputed that the appellant intended to import latest equipment for Cardio Vascular Imaging System. When Respondent No. 2 has already granted certificates in favour of several such Diagnostic Centres, as alleged in the Special Leave Application, refusal on his part to grant such certificate to the appellant without any justifiable reason tantamounts to a discriminatory treatment metted out to the appellant which on the face of it is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. In view of our conclusion, as aforesaid. We have no doubt in our mind that the order of Respondent No. 2 refusing to grant certificate to the appellant is liable to be struck down and....