JUDGMENT

S.B. Sinha, J.—Sealed maintenance free lead acid batteries manufactured in Taiwan for being used in Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) were imported by the appellant at Mumbai on 16.4.2002. The goods were trans-shipped from Mumbai to Delhi. The Bill of Entry, however, was filed by the appellant with the customs authorities at Delhi on 22.5.2002.

2. Anti-dumping duty, indisputably, can be levied on issuance of a notification by the Central Government in terms of Section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (for short, the Act). The said provision reads thus :

"9A. Anti-dumping duty.—(1) Where any article is exported from any country or territory (hereafter in this section referred to as the exporting country or territory) to India at less than its normal value, then, upon the importation of such articles into India, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, impose, -

(a)if the articles is not otherwise chargeable with duty under the provisions of this Act, a duty; or

(b)if the article is otherwise so chargeable, an additional duty, not exceeding the margin of dumping in relation to such article;"

3. The Central Government, in exercise of its power there