Case: Girdharilal Bansidhar Vs. Union Of India

some of the items in the Hand-book. It might very well be that this feature might be explained on the ground of the specification being by way of abundant caution, or possibly because in them the component parts might have an independent use other than as components of the articles specified. It appears to us that it does not stand to reason that a component part which has no use other than as a component of an article whose importation is prohibited is into included in a ban or restriction as regards the importation of that article. Expressed in other terms, we cannot accede to the position that it is the intention of the rule that importers are permitted to do indirectly what they are forbidden to do directly, and that it permits the importation separately of components which have no use other than as components of an article whose importation is prohibited, and that an importer is thereby enabled to assemble them here as a complete article though if they are assembled beyond the Customs Frontiers the importation of the assembled article into India is prohibited. Learned Counsel, however, relied upon an unreported judgment of the Bombay High Court delivered by Mr. Justice Mudholkar when a Judge of that Court in Appeal No. 4 of 1959 (Bom) D. P. an and v. M/s. T. M. Thakore and Co. in support of his submission that a ban on a completed article, having regard to the phraseology employed in the Hand-book cannot be read as a restriction or prohibition of the separate importation of the component parts which when assembled result in the article whose import is prohibited. We do not read the judgment in the manner suggested by learned counsel. The learned Judge in the judgment recorded an admission that the articles imported which were components of a motor-bicycle, would not when assembled form a complete cycle which was the article whose importation was restricted because of the lack of certain essential parts which were admittedly not available, in India and could not be imported. 9. The next submission of the learned Counsel was that the decision of the Customs Collector was vitiated by a patent error, in that he misconstrued the scope of Entry 22 of Part I of the Import Trade Control Hand-book.10. In support of this submission the learned Counsel invited our attention to the decision of this Court in A. V. Venkateswaran v. Ramchand Sobhraj Wadhwani (1962) 1 SCR 753 : (AIR 1961 SC 1506 ). We see no force in this argument. The decision of this Court referred to proceeded on the basis set out on page 757 of the Report (SCR): (at p. 1508 of AIR) where this Court said: The learned Solicitor-General appearing for the appellant argued the appeal on the basis that the view of the learned Judges of the Bombay High Court that on any reasonable interpretation of the item in the Schedule to the Tariff Act the consignment imported by the respondent could have been liable only to a duty of 30 per cent under item 45(3) was correct. 11. Learned Counsel cannot therefore derive any support from this decision. Besides, what we have said earlier should suffice to show that the conclusion reached by the authority that the offence under S. 167(8) has been made out, is not incorrect. This apart, we must emphasise that a Court dealing with a petition under Art. 226 is not sitting in appeal over the decision of the Customs Authorities and therefore the correctness of the conclusion reached by those authorities on the appreciation of the several items in the Hand-book or in the Indian Tariff Act which is referred to in these items, is not a matter which falls within the writ jurisdiction of the High Court. There is here no complaint of any procedural irregularity of the kind which would invalidate the order, for the order of the Collector shows by its contents that there has been an elaborate investigation and personal hearing accorded before the order now impugned was passed. 12. Learned counsel next submitted that the Collector of Customs had taken into consideration the importation of the washers by the Nawanagar Industries Ltd., in arriving at the conclusion that the appellant had violated S. 167(8) of the Sea Customs Act and that as in the notice that was served upon him to show cause this was not adverted to the order adjudging confiscation was illegal and void for the reason that there had been a violation of the principles of natural justice and procedural irregularity in the hearing. We are not impressed by this argument. This submission proceeds upon a total misapprehension of the significance of the separate import of the washers by the sister-concern. That import was not and could not be the subject of any charge against the appellants, and the appellants were not punished for that importation. It was merely evidence to confirm the conclusion reached by the Collector that the nuts and bolts imported were in reality the actual components of the Jackson type fastener whose importation was prohibited. The charge which the appellant was called on to answer did specify the nature of the offence which he was alleged to contravene and if evidence which the appellant could have rebutted was brought on record and considered in his presence and that evidence conclusively proved the real nature of the articles imported, there could certainly be no justifiable complaint of violation of the principles of natural justice. The mis-description of the article imported in the Bill of Entry having practically been admitted and there being not much dispute that the goods imported were really components of the Jackson type single belt fasteners nothing more was needed to establish a contravention of S. 167(8). The reference therefore to the Nawanagar Industries Ltd: which imported the washers merely confirmed the finding. In these circumstances we do not consider that there is any substance in this objection. 13.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]It is, no doubt, true that in some cases component parts are specifically included in some of the items in the Hand-book. It might very well be that this feature might be explained on the ground of the specification being by way of abundant caution, or possibly because in them the component parts might have an independent use other than as components of the articles specified. It appears to us that it does not stand to reason that a component part which has no use other than as a component of an article whose importation is prohibited is into included in a ban or restriction as regards the importation of that article. Expressed in other terms, we cannot accede to the position that it is the intention of the rule that importers are permitted to do indirectly what they are forbidden to do directly, and that it permits the importation separately of components which have no use other than as components of an article whose importation is prohibited, and that an importer is thereby enabled to assemble them here as a complete article though if they are assembled beyond the Customs Frontiers the importation of the assembled article into India is prohibited. Learned Counsel, however, relied upon an unreported judgment of the Bombay High Court delivered by Mr. Justice Mudholkar when a Judge of that Court in Appeal No. 4 of 1959 (Bom) D. P. an and v. M/s. T. M. Thakore and Co. in support of his submission that a ban on a completed article, having regard to the phraseology employed in the Hand-book cannot be read as a restriction or prohibition of the separate importation of the component parts which when assembled result in the article whose import is prohibited. We do not read the judgment in the manner suggested by learned counsel. The learned Judge in the judgment recorded an admission that the articles imported which were components of a motor-bicycle, would not when assembled form a complete cycle which was the article whose importation was restricted because of the lack of certain essential parts which were admittedly not available, in India and could not be importedWe see no force in this argument. The decision of this Court referred to proceeded on the basis set out on page 757 of the Report (SCR): (at p. 1508 of AIR) where this Court said:The learned Solicitor-General appearing for the appellant argued the appeal on the basis that the view of the learned Judges of the Bombay High Court that on any reasonable interpretation of the item in the Schedule to the Tariff Act the consignment imported by the respondent could have been liable only to a duty of 30 per cent under item 45(3) was correctLearned Counsel cannot therefore derive any support from this decision. Besides, what we have said earlier should suffice to show that the conclusion reached by the authority that the offence under S. 167(8) has been made out, is not incorrect. This apart, we must emphasise that a Court dealing with a petition under Art. 226 is not sitting in appeal over the decision of the Customs Authorities and therefore the correctness of the conclusion reached by those authorities on the appreciation of the several items in the Hand-book or in the Indian Tariff Act which is referred to in these items, is not a matter which falls within the writ jurisdiction of the High Court. There is here no complaint of any procedural irregularity of the kind which would invalidate the order, for the order of the Collector shows by its contents that there has been an elaborate investigation and personal hearing accorded before the order now impugned was passedThis submission proceeds upon a total misapprehension of the significance of the separate import of the washers by the sister-concern. That import was not and could not be the subject of any charge against the appellants, and the appellants were not punished for that importation. It was merely evidence to confirm the conclusion reached by the Collector that the nuts and bolts imported were in reality the actual components of the Jackson type fastener whose importation was prohibited. The charge which the appellant was called on to answer did specify the nature of the offence which he was alleged to contravene and if evidence which the appellant could have rebutted was brought on record and considered in his presence and that evidence conclusively proved the real nature of the articles imported, there could certainly be no justifiable complaint of violation of the principles of natural justice. The mis-description of the article imported in the Bill of Entry having practically been admitted and there being not much dispute that the goods imported were really components of the Jackson type single belt fasteners nothing more was needed to establish a contravention of S. 167(8). The reference therefore to the Nawanagar Industries Ltd: which imported the washers merely confirmed the finding. In these circumstances we do not consider that there is any substance in this objection.