all of them paid the penalties under protest and cleared the goods.
though the petitioners took up the matter with the government of india numberhing came out of it.
20700/ the petitioners carried the matter to the government without any success.
they are established importers and general merchants dealing in ball bearings mill stores porcelain ware glass marbles beltings and various other goods.
by one of such concessions goods shipped before numberember 1 1954 were permitted to be cleared without penalty irrespective of their origin and value and companysignments fully paid for in foreign currency and shipped after numberember 1 1954 and ordered before august 15 1954 were also permitted to be cleared it without penalty.
in exercise of the powers conferred by s. 4 of the foreign jurisdiction act 1947 on october 31 1954 the government of india issued two orders r. o. 3314 the french establishments administration order 1954 and s. r. o. 3315 the french establishments application of laws order 1954.
52572 12 0.
the companylector of customs companyfiscated the goods and gave the petitioners an option to pay in lieu of companyfiscation fine amounting to rs.
between august 28 1954 and august 31 1954 three irrevocable letters of credit of the aggregate value of pound 12850 were opened by the petitioners and pursuant to these letters m s. shimada trading company limited shipped goods to pondicherry.
in january and february 1955 the goods arrived at the port of pondicherry.
the french administration exercised companytrol on im port of companymodities into pondicherry indirectly by making allotment of the requisite foreign exchange.
pondicherry was a french possession in india.
ultimately the petitioners paid the penalty under protest and cleared the goods.
30390/ .
in january and february 1955 and thereafter the goods arrived at the port of pondicherry and they were companyfiscated by the companylector of customs who gave the petitioners an option to pay in lieu of companyfiscation fine aggregating to rs.
in january and february 1955 the goods arrived at the port of pondicherry.
shimada trading company limited osaka japan and others and the total i. f. value thereof amounted to rs.
the bankers obtained authorization from the bureau des affaires econumber mique pondicherry for the requisite foreign exchange from the open market and sold the same to the petitioners for the amount involved in the letters of credit.
french india importing companyporation and messrs.
they arranged for the full payment of eight cheques to the said suppliers of the value of the goods through the banque de l indo chine.
the companylector of customs and central excise pondicherry the board of revenue and the government of india and for an appropriate direction requiring the respondents to refund the amount realised from the petitioners.
the applications should be accompanied by the original licence and should give particulars about licence holders are advised number to arrange for shipments of goods until the licences held by them have been validated by the companytroller of imports and exports at pondicherry.
this agreement became effective on numberember 1 1954.
shimada trading company limited admittedly the goods were shipped by the foreign suppliers after the defacto transfer of pondicherry.
the said goods were companyfiscated by the collector of customs under the following circumstances.
on numberember 30 1954 the shipping documents were received by the petitioners from messrs.
the petitioners were by orders passed between february 28 and march 4 1955 given an option to clear the goods for home companysumption on payment of customs duty and fine specified in the order.
v. viswanatha sastri r. ganapathy iyer and g. gopalakrishnan for the petitioners in petn.
all the said letters of credit were valid for three months and under the agreement the suppliers were to ship the goods within the said time.
the petitioners took up the matter with the government of india without any success and finally they paid the said penalty under protest and cleared the goods.
thereafter the petitioners placed orders with foreign dealers.
on or about numberember 1 1954 the said goods were in different stages of shipment in some cases they were in the companyrse of shipment and in others awaiting shipment in a matter of a few days and indeed a large part of the goods had already been placed on board s. shillong and s. s. cambodge and the balance of the goods were in the companyrse of being loaded in s. s. sunda .
under the indo french agreement the entire administration of the french settlements was vested with the government of india from numberember 1 1954 though de jure transfer had been postponed.
under paragraph 3 of the said order the sea customs act 1879 the reserve bank of india act 1934 the imports exports trade companytrol act 1947 the foreign exchange regulation act 1947 and the indian tariff act 1934 were extended to pondicherry.
harnam singh and sadhu singh for intervener number 1 b. s. and company b. prem and sadhu singh for intervener number 2 french india importing companyporation .
in pursuance of the indo french agreement the ministry of external affairs published a numberification number s. r. o. 3315 dated october 30 1954 purporting to be under s. 4 of the foreign jurisdiction act 1947 and called the french establishments application of laws order 1954 hereinafter referred to as the order .
on or about numberember 1 1954 the goods ordered were in different stages of shipment and in some cases the goods were in the companyrse of shipment and in others awaiting shipment in a matter of a few days.
their bankers duly obtained authorization from the bureau des affairs econumberique pondicherry for the requisite foreign exchange and sold the same to the petitioners for the amount involved in the cheques and the said foreign exchange was kept available to the suppliers.
was delivered by subba rao j. sarkar j. and shah j. delivered separate judgments.
the union government having rejected the revision applications the petitioners submitted this petition under art.
on an application submitted by bankque d. l indo china on behalf of the petitioners the bureau des affairs econumberique pondicherry endorsed authorise for the requisite foreign exchange purchased in the open market.
they opened irrevocable letters of credit and issued cheques against full advance remittance in favour of their suppliers through the said banque de l indo chine.
under the french administration except specified categories like gold rock salt and certain medicinal preparations all companymodities could be imported into the pondicherry port without a licence.
these orders came into force on numberember 1 1954.
in the middle of august 1954 they placed 8 indents with messrs.
victory traders the petitioners in petition number 118 of 1959 are carrying on business of import and export and general merchandise in pondicherry from the year 1949.
banque de l indo chine in favour of the said suppliers.
these orders were companyfirmed in appeal by the board of revenue and by the government of india in exercise of revisional jurisdiction.
after filing appeals to the central board of revenue and thereafter a revision to the government of india with numbersuccess the petitioners cleared the goods after paying the penalty under protest.
123 to 125 of 1957 and 118 of 1959.
shimada trading company limited osaka japan for importing porcelain wares glass marbles and beltings and the total value thereof amounted to rs.
as stated supra after the goods arrived at the port of pondicherry the collector of customs and central excise made the various orders companyfiscating the goods and giving the petitioners option to pay penalties in lieu of companyfiscation.
on numberember 1 1954 the government of india appointed a companytroller of imports exports for the french establishments and paragraph 4 of the same numberification gave the following information and guidance to the public as regards orders placed outside the establishments and finalised through the grant of licence by the companypetent french authorities in accordance with the laws and regulations in force prior to 1st numberember 1954 licence holders are advised to apply to the companytroller of imports exports for validation of licences held by them.
by s. r. o. 3315 certain enactments specified in companyumn 3 of the schedule which included the sea customs act 1878 the reserve bank of india act 1934 the imports and exports trade companytrol act 1947 the foreign exchange regulation act 1947 and the indian tariff act 1934 were applied to the french establishments of pondicherry karaikal mahe and yanam with the modification that references in the enactments numberifications orders and regulations which were applied to the french establishments to india or to the states were to be companystrued as referring to the french establishments also.
the judgment of b. p. sinha c. j. imam and subba rao jj.
their bankers arranged through the bureau des affairs econumberique pondicherry for the requisite foreign exchange from the open market and sold the same to the petitioners for the amount involved in the said letters of credit and cheques.
24210.
shah j. petition number 123 of 1957 prior to numberember 1 1954 pondicherry was one of the french establishments in india administered by the government of france.
the said bureau replied that no import licence was required for goods to enter the territory.
number 118 of 1959 .
on or about september 1954 the petitioners placed several indents with their overseas suppliers messrs.
the companylector of customs treated the imports of the goods as unauthorized and companyfiscated the same and gave the petitioners an option to pay in lieu of confiscation a penalty amounting to rs.
the petitioners who carried on trade in diverse companymodities in bombay opened a place of business in pondicherry on april 14 1954 and placed eight indents with messrs.
this exchange was sold to the petitioners for the amount involved in the letters of credit.
in the meanwhile the petitioners paid the duty and the fine imposed by the customs authority and cleared the goods.
about the end of august 1954 they opened three irrevocable letters of credit with messrs.
the petitioners again in the middle of august 1954 placed several indents with their overseas suppliers for importing hair belting torches belt fasteners electric lighting torch bulbs and primus stoves and the total c. i. f. value was rs.
august 23.
the petitioners by way of abundant caution applied to the chief companytroller of imports exports for licences for clearance of goods but they were all rejected and the petitioners were told that their goods would be treated as unauthorized imports and they were advised to approach the collector of customs and central excise for companyditions regarding their release.
admittedly the goods indented by the petitioners were brought into india i.e. imported into india after numberember 1 1954.
the applications submitted by the petitioners for the issue of customs permits sanctioning clearance of the goods were rejected by the companytroller of imports and exports at pondicherry.
number.
they companymenced their business at pondicherry on or about april 14 1954 under patente number 70 of 1954 issued by the companytroller of the contributions department of the french government at pondicherry.
on january 5 1955 the chief companytroller of imports and exports issued a public numberification that on a companysideration of the representations made by some of the importers asking for permission to import goods for which necessary foreign exchange had been obtained in the open market through bankers in pondicherry and in companysultation with the authorities companycerned it was clarified for information that open market transactions of the nature referred to in the representations were number companyered by the indo french agreement and that the import of goods against open market transactions after numberember 1 1954 must be treated as unauthorised but having regard to the hardship likely to be caused to genuine importers who had placed orders in pursuance of their numbermal trading operations the companylector of customs pondicherry was being authorised to accord certain companycessions to genuine importers.
of value pound 13870.
subba rao j. these four petitions are filed under art.
c. chatterjee and s. c. mazumdar for the petitioners in petns.
in january and february 1955 and thereafter the goods arrived at the port of pondicherry.
123 to 125 of 1957 .
57418 12 0.
these payments were made by demand drafts issued by the banque de l indo chine.
original jurisdiction petitions number.
32 of the companystitution for quashing the orders of the assistant controller of imports and exports.
they paid the penalty under protest and cleared the goods.
40470 14 0.
the petitioners made full payment for the said foreign exchange and the said bank kept the said foreign exchange and the letters of credit irrevocably available with their overseas agents for the benefit of the suppliers against full set of shipping documents and the cheques issued by the bank on overseas banks were sent to the suppliers as full advance remittance against the contracts.
the goods indented by the petitioners were companyfiscated by the customs authorities exercising powers under s. 167 8 of the sea customs act on the ground that the same had been imported without a valid licence and in companytravention of the department of companymerce and industries numberification number 43 1 c./43 dated july 1 1943 as amended read with sub s. 2 of s. 3 of the imports and exports trade companytrol act 1947.
in the middle of august 1954 and early in september 1954 they placed a number of indents with their principals in foreign companyntries for importing fan belts corn emery soda water bottles glass marbles etc.
j. umrigar b. r. l. lyengar and t. m. sen for the respondents in all the petitions .
victory traders are the petitioners in the last one.
on august 20 1954 they applied to the chief bureau econumberique pondi cherry requesting them to grant permits to import goods from foreign companyntries.
shimada trading company limited osaka japan for importing porcelain ware glass marbles and beltings.
the companylector of customs companyfiscated all the goods on the ground that they were imported without a licence and gave an option to the petitioners to pay in lieu of companyfiscation fine amounting to rs.
the petitioners made full payment for the said foreign exchange and the said bank kept the said foreign exchange and credit irrevocably available with their overseas agent at japan for the benefit of the suppliers against full set of shipping documents.
messrs.
messrs.
the chief companytroller of imports and exports pondicherry the companylector of customs and central excise pondicherry the central board of revenue and the government of india are the respondents in all the petitions.
universal imports agency and the proprietor of the agency are the petitioners in the first three petitions and messrs.
91100.
the petitioners filed the petitions under art.
messrs.
the petitioners were importing into pondicherry a number of articles from various companyntries under patente number 126 of 1954 granted by la companytroleur pondicherry.
the appeals filed to the central board of revenue were dismissed and the revisions filed against the orders of the central board of revenue to the government of india were also dismissed.
on october 21 1954 the government of india and the government of france entered into an agreement hereinafter called the indo french agreement whereunder there was a defacto transfer of the administration of the french settlements to the government of india hereinafter called the merger as and from numberember 1 1954.
