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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
P.N. PRAKASH, J.
K.S. Subramanian and Another – Petitioners
Versus
State, Rep. by the Deputy Superintendent of Police CBI, ACB, Chennai – Respondent
Crl. R.C. (MD) No. 245 of 2015 and Crl. O.P. (MD) No. 9397 of 2016
Decided On : 16-02-2018
Customs Duty - Antidumping Duty - Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - Sections 120-B, 420, 13(2), 13(1)(d) - Customs Act, 1962 - Section 155 - Customs Tariff Act - Notification No. 147 of 2003 - [Steel Measuring Tapes Import] - [Sections 120-B r/w 420 IPC, Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Section 155 of Customs Act, 1962, Customs Tariff Act, Notification No. 147 of 2003] - The court discussed the nature of the allegations, the actions of the accused, and the legal provisions related to customs and antidumping duty. The court highlighted the interpretation of the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff Act, and the application of the legal principles in determining the liability of the accused.
Fact of the Case:
The case involved the import of steel measuring tapes from China, where the accused, in collusion with customs officers, cleared the consignments without paying antidumping duty.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the accused had facilitated the evasion of antidumping duty by manipulating the unit price of the imported goods, and rejected the arguments that their actions were intended to secure customs duty for the State.
Issues: The issues included the liability of the accused under the relevant legal provisions, the interpretation of customs valuation, and the applicability of antidumping duty.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the accused cannot be discharged from the prosecution or have the prosecution quashed, and emphasized the need to evaluate the materials brought on record by the prosecution to determine the existence of all the ingredients constituting the alleged offence.
Final Decision: The criminal revision and the criminal original petition were dismissed, and the accused were directed to surrender before the Trial Court within a specified period.
P.N. PRAKASH, J.
1. Based on source information, the Central Bureau of Investigation, Chennai, registered a case in RC-MA1-2012-A-0006, against one Sanjay H Shah, Proprietor of M/s. Edge, Mumbai and others and after completion of investigation, has filed seven charge sheets, namely, C.C. Nos. 3 to 9 of 2013, for the offences under Sections 120-B r/w 420 I.P.C. and Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, before the learned II Additional District Judge for C.B.I. Cases, Madurai. In all the charge sheets, Sanjay H Shah, Proprietor of M/s. Edge, Mumbai and K.S. Murugan, partner of M/s. Green Port Shipping Agency, have been shown as A1 and A2. However, the other accused in each of the cases are customs officials and they differ.
2. The crux of the allegation in all the charge sheets is that, Sanjay H Shah (A1) imported steel measuring tapes from China via Tuticorin Port under different bills of entry on different dates and in collusion with the customs officers on duty, he had cleared all his consignments without payment of antidumping duty.
3. The present case pertains to C.C. No. 3 of 2013, in which, apart from Sanjay H Shah (A1) and K.S. Murugan (A2), the other accused are R. Vijayan (A3) - Superintendent of Customs, S. Sridhar (A4) - Superintendent of Customs and Central Excise, K.S. Subramanian (A5) - Deputy Commissioner (Retd.) Central Excise, Tuticorin.
4. K.S. Subramanian (A5) filed Cr. M.P. No. 339 of 2013 in C.C. No. 3 of 2013, under Section 239 Cr.P.C. before the learned II Additional District Judge for C.B.I. Cases, Madurai, for discharging him from the prosecution, which has been dismissed by the Trial Court by order dated 07.04.2015. Challenging the same, he has filed Crl. R.C. (MD) No. 245 of 2015. R. Vijayan (A3) has filed Crl. O.P. (MD) No. 9397 of 2016, under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking to quash the proceedings initiated against him in C.C. No. 3 of 2013. Both the cases were taken up together, heard together and are being disposed of by this common order.
5. During the course of hearing, Mr. P. Saravanan, learned counsel on record for R. Vijayan (A3) withdrew his appearance and R. Vijayan (A3) argued the case as party-in-person.
6. Heard both sides and perused the materials filed in the form of typed set.
7. To appreciate the contentions of the petitioners, it may be necessary to state the nature of the allegations made against them in the final report in C.C. No. 3 of 2013. To put it in simple words, steel measuring tapes are manufactured in abundance by China and therefore, they are liable to antidumping duty in terms of the Government of India's Notification No. 147 of 2003 dated 07.10.2003. According to the said notification, steel measuring tapes, its parts and components imported from China costing less than 4.106 US$ per Kilogram would attract anti-dumping duty. In this case, Sanjay H Shah (A1) imported 4,32,000 pieces of steel measuring tapes from M/s. Shanghai Huiyi Measuring Instruments Company Limited, Shanghai, China, vide bill of lading dated 08.06.2006. The said consignment reached Tuticorin Port on 17.07.2006 and it was transported to M/s. Concor, CFS, Tuticorin, for customs clearance formalities. Sanjay H Shah (A1) appointed M/s. Green Port Shipping Agency run by K.S. Murugan (A2) as his Custom House Agent for clearing the consignment. K.S. Murugan (A2) filed the bill of entry on 17.07.2006 and it was checked by Vijayan (A3), Superintendent of Customs, who was functioning as Appraiser in Import Assessment Section, Custom House, Tuticorin. Vijayan (A3) passed an order directing that there should be 100% examination of the cargo, which was approved by K.S. Subramanian (A5), who was working as the Assistant Commissioner then. This order was passed at 05.30 p.m. on 17.07.2006 and it was transmitted via local area network (LAN) to Thirugnanam, Superintendent and R. Venugopal, Inspector, who were working at M/s. Concor, CFS, Tuticorin, as Shed Examination Officers. Thirugnana
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