Stainless steel drums used as containers for importing edible oil are not a separate item of importation and their use is not prohibited.

( 1 ) THE petitioner company imported 13. 500 M. T. of RBD Palm Oil from foreign suppliers. The import of RBD Palm Oil was allowed under open general licence by Import Trade Control Public Notice No. 64 ITC (Pandb)/78 issued by Ministry of Commerce, Civil Supplies E and Cooperation, Govt. of India on September 2, 1978. Bills of entry for the total quantity of Palm Oil were duly presented to the authorities after the ship entered Bombay Port. The oil in question was contained in stainless steel drums. The proper officer cleared the goods after physical checking and satisfying himself that the import of goods was not prohibited under section 47 of the Customs Act. There was no restriction, at the time of the import, that Edible Oil should be imported only in a particular type of drum or container. The drum or container could be of steel or iron as REFERRED TO to inserial No. 73-23 of the First Schedule to the Import Control Order. "stainless Steel" is included in the expression "steel", in the said entry. The drums were brought at the Ghaziabad factory of the company and after unpacking the ,oil they were disposed of by the petitioner. company in the normal course of business. Acting on the belief that under Appendix 3 of the Import Policy A. M. 79, importation of stainless steel drums was- banned, the customs authorities effected searches and seized the drums (under Section 110 of the Customs Act) from various places. Respondent No. 2, thereafter, through the Asst. Collector of Revenue and Intelligence, New Delhi, issued summons to the petitioner No. 2 and to the General Manager of petitioner No. I, under Section 108 of the B Customs Act. The statements of petitioner No. 2 and the General Manager were recorded on September 1, 1979. A public notice was issued by the Custom Authorities on September 6, 1979 regarding, the declarations to be made inrespect of packages or containers. The said notification reads as follows :

SUB. : Assessment of the packages or containers or the like

IT is notified for the information of the Importers/clearing Agents and others concerned, that the following procedure is introduced with immediate effect for the processing of B/e and S/bills as the case may be.

THE B/e or S/bills, as the case may be, will contain an additional declaration of the importers indicating the nature of the packing. If the importers want to avail the benefit of exemption Notification No. 184/cus. . dated 2-8-1976 they mast clearly declare that

(A) The value of the packages or containers of the like in which the goods are packed is included in the value for which the goods contained therein have been invoiced;

(B) the goods are not packed in packages or containers or the like which are of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use; and

(C) the packages or containers or the like in which the goods are packed are such as are normally used in the trade for packing such goods.

FURTHER, if the packing is of other than wood, paper and. paper bamboo, cane and cheap plastic material, the nature of material and the approximate cost per unit container or package should also be declared.

IN case the drums and other containers of durable nature importers may claim benefit of Notification No. 260-Customs dated 11-10-1958 subject to satisfying-conditions prescribed therein.

ISSUED from file No. 5/26-94/79 III (C)

IT may be seen that it was for the first time that the custom authorities required disclosure of "the nature of the material and the approximate cost of the unit container or package" by virtue of the said public notice of September 6, 1979.

( 2 ) IN the months of October and November, 1979 the Assistant Collector, Bombay issued short levy notices under section 28 of the Customs Act to the petitioners. The notices stated that the fact that the drums were of stainless steel was suppressed by the petitioners. It was then stated :

"the stainless steel drums are subject to levy of customs duty