1999 (7) TMI 70

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....r referred to as "the Act") provides for levy of additional duty under Section 3 which section reads as follows : "3. Levy of additional duty equal to excise duty. - (1) Any article which is imported into India shall, in addition, be liable to a duty (hereafter to this section referred to as the additional duty) equal to the excise duty for the time being leviable on a like article if produced or manufactured in India and if such excise duty on a like article is leviable at any percentage of its value, the additional duty to which the imported article shall be so liable shall be calculated at that percentage of the value of the imported article. Explanation. - In this section, the expression "the excise duty for the time being leviabl....

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....uty leviable on any raw materials, components and ingredients of the same nature as, or similar to those, used in the production or manufacture of such article, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that such imported article shall, in addition, be liable to an additional duty representing, such portion of the excise duty leviable on such raw materials, components and ingredients as, in either case, may be determined by rules made by the Central Government in this behalf. (4) In making any rules for the purposes of sub-section (3), the Central Government shall have regard to the average quantum of the Excise duty payable on the raw materials, components or ingredients used in the production or manufacture of such like a....

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....d Industries (supra), this Court was not concerned with the interpretation of Section 3(2). What arose for consideration was the interpretation of Section 3(1). Nevertheless in the course of considering the same, the Court took note of notes to clauses of the Customs Tariff Bill, 1975 and observed that the levy under Section 3 was "with a view to levy additional duty on an imported article so as to counter-balance the excise duty leviable on the like article indigenously made. In other words, Section 3 of the Act has been enacted to provide for a level playing field to the present or future manufacturers of the like articles in India". 7. As we read Section 3, we find that it is one composite section dealing with different aspects of the....