G. Sankaran, Vice-President

1. Since these two appeals involve a common issue, they were heard together and are being disposed of by this common order.

2. An exactly similar issue had cropped up in respect of some other consignments of viscose staple fibre imported by the same appellants by the same vessel "BANGLAR PROGOTI" discharged at Calcutta and transshipped to Madras Port by M.V. "KHULNA" (the same vessel as in the previous cases) in identical circumstances. Two such appeals - appeal No. 494/1981 (D) and appeal No. 832/81-(D) - had been disposed of by the Tribunal's orders Nos. 232/83 dated 18.4.83 and 686/84-(D) dt. 15.12.84 confirming the orders of the lower authorities. Quite recently another such appeal No. 966/81-(D) was disposed by a similar order No. 189/86(D) dated 31.3.86 again confirming the orders of the lower authorities. However, when the present two appeals were taken up, Shri Rangaswamy, counsel for the appellants, stated that he would like to submit some further arguments. Since the salient aspects of the dispute have already been discussed at length in the Tribunal's previous orders (referred to above), we propose to confine the discussions in this order t