TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2000 (9) TMI 84
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....t of plastic scrap) by Export Oriented Units (in short EOU)/Export Processing Zone (in short EPZ) units. Doubts were entertained in respect of the Notification No. 5/98-C.E., dated 2nd June, 1998, 5/99-C.E., dated 28th February, 1999 and 6/2000-C.E., dated 1st March, 2000. In Paragraph 3 of the circular it was inter alia stated as follows : "In so far as levy of additional duty of customs (CVD) on imports of reprocessed plastic materials viz., plastic granules/agglomerates, is concerned, condition (1) above will not be satisfied because the reprocessing has not been done in India. Thus, in case of normal imports of reprocessed plastic materials, the importers/domestic manufacturers are liable to pay, among other duties, additional duty f....
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....ve to be noted. Petitioners are paying duty in respect of the goods sold in DTA. They are also paying additional duty which is known as CVD under Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (in short Tariff Act), which is equivalent of the Excise duty for the time being leviable on a like article if produced or manufactured in India. Serial number 63 of Exemption Notification No. 66, which is relevant for the present dispute, reads as follows : "63. 39.01 to 39.14 Plastic materials reprocessed in India out of the scrap or the waste of goods falling within Chapters 39, 54, 55, 56, 59, 64, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95 and 96" Section 3 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 which is pressed into service by the parties reads as fo....
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.... equal to excise duty. - (1) Any article which is imported into India shall, in addition, be liable to a duty (hereafter in 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 leviable on a like article if produced or manufactured in India" means the excise duty for the time being in force which would be leviable on a like ar....
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....of Section 3." 4.On a reading of Section 3 of the Tariff Act it is clear that articles if imported into India will attract duty equal to the Excise duty for the time being leviable on a like article if produced or manufactured in India. The purpose of such prescription appears to be that no importer is placed at a more advantageous position vis-a-vis another, more particularly in respect of producers of scrap articles in India, if they are like in nature to those which are being imported into India. The intention is implicit in the language of Section 3 of the Tariff Act. More relevant is the explanation which provides that Excise duty for the time being in force which is leviable on like article if produced or manufactured in India or i....
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.... be relevant to take note of decisions of the Apex Court in Hyderabad Industries Ltd. v U.O.I. - 1999 (108) E.L.T. 321 (S.C.) and in Thermax Private Limited v. Collector of Customs (Bombay) - 1992 (61) E.L.T. 352 (S.C.) = (1992) 4 SCC 440. In Paragraph 11 of the Hyderabad Industries case (supra) it was observed as under : "The words "if produced or manufactured in India" does not mean that the like article should be actually produced or manufactured in India. As per the explanation if an imported article is one which has been manufactured or produced then it must be presumed, for the purpose of Section 3(1), that such article can likewise be manufactured or produced in India. For the purpose of attracting additional duty under Section 3 ....
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....e article if produced or manufactured in India. In the notes to clauses to the Customs Tariff Bill, 1975 with regard to clause 3 it was stated that "Clause 3 provides for the levy of additional duty on an imported article to counterbalance the excise duty leviable on the like article made indigenously, or on the indigenous raw materials, components or ingredients which go into the making of the like indigenous article. This provision corresponds to Section 2A of the existing Act, and is necessary to safeguard the interests of the manufacturers in India". Apart from the plain language of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, even the notes to clauses show the legislative intent of providing for a charging section in the Tariff Act, 1975 for enabling....