Law: Customs Act, 1969

Section: 18 , 19 , 31-A

  Customs Act (IV of 1969)-- ---Ss. 18, 19, 31-A & Scheds. I & 1I---Notification No. SRO 505 (1)/86---Rate of duty ---Notification under S.18---Where by notification under S.19 the amount of exemption has been reduced and the exemption granted earlier has been curtailed and partially withdrawn, there would be no question of levy or prescribing rate of customs duty by Notification under S.19. Under section 18(1) of the Customs Act rate of duty is prescribed in Schedule I and Schedule 11 of the Act. Section 18(2) authorises the Federal Government to levy regulatory duty by notification. The extent of period of validity has also been fixed by section 18. It is therefore to be seen whether the impugned notification has levied any duty or granted any exemption. According to the notification certain variations have been made in the amount of exemption. Under the earlier Notification No. SRO 505 (1)/86 similar wordings were used. In Co1.3 of the table, of the Notification rate of duty has been specified, but it is not the rate of duty applicable as provided by the Ist Schedule. The rate of duty as mentioned in column 3 is for calculating the actual duty. According to this notification exemption shall be only in respect of so much of the customs duty chargeable as is in excess of the rates of duty specified in Column 3. Therefore, for the purposes of calculating the exemption one has to first ascertain the rate of duty prescribed by the 1st Schedule. After calculating such rate of duty the rate of duty specified in Column 3 has to be substracted and thus the balance which is in excess of the rate mentioned in Column 3 will be the exemption allowed under the notification. The rate of duty prescribed in the schedule was 60% ad valorem which is in excess of Rs. 5,350 per metric ton. Thus by this notification the amount of exemption has been reduced and the exemption granted earlier has been curtailed and partially withdrawn. Thus there is no question of levy or prescribing rate of customs duty by a notification under section 19 of the Customs Act. Gul Ahmad Textile Mills v. The Collector of Customs, Petition No.841/86; IRC v. Airshire Association Ltd. 1946…