Per Shri V.K. Ashtana :

These are appeals from Order-in-Appeal of Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) dated 26.3.96, upholding the O-I-O No. S 23/54/92-Gr.7/S-30/221/95-Gr.7A dated 26.9.95 wherein a demand of Rs. 93,40,559/- under Section 28 (2) of Customs Act, 1962 was confirmed upon the appellant, which is an 100% Export Oriented Unit (EOU). The period in question is from 28.11.91 to 22.3.93.

2. Briefly, the facts of the case are that the appellants, as a 100% EOU, are, interalia, manufacturing "Wire-Wheels", an accessory for Motor Vehicles, and exporting them. As some of these were found defective/out of date, they were re-imported during the aforesaid period vide 16 Bills of Entry after executing separate Bonds in terms of Notification No. 132/61-Cus. As the appellants failed to re-export these goods within the stipulated time, the demand for above mentioned amount was confirmed in the O-I-O, which was also upheld by the impugned order-in-appeal.

3. Heard the Ld. Consultant Shri Kumaraswamy. He argued that in this 100% EOU, where bonded tenure expires only in 2005 AD, the wire-wheels are either exported by outright sale, or exported on stock transfer as per permission of RBI; t