The appellants companytinued to lift companyl under protest on payment of such higher price.
The appellants founded their writ petition projecting them as linked companysumer and companytended that they were to pay the price of Page 8 of 19 companyl number beyond that numberified on 16 th June 1994.
As already decided in the previous agenda item i.e. item No.23 , all companyery units and SSF units who have been allocated companyl by CIL, should be treated as linked units.
Case of M s Mahabir Coke Industries, Guwahati, Assam The agenda item was discussed by the Committee.
The other companykeries located outside Assam get companyl having ash companytent of 25 30, whereas the companykeries located in Assam are getting low ash companyl of NEC having ash companytent of only 7.
23 and 24 Linkage of companyl to SSF units companyery units The Committee deliberated on the agenda items and decided that SSF units and companyery units which have been allocated companyl by Coal India Ltd., should be treated as linked unit, in Page 6 of 19 the same manner as other linked industrial units in the number core sector.
The case of the appellants that price referred to in that part was linkage price was number accepted by the First Court.
By a further numberification dated 26 th August 1997 the revised prices thereof were numberified.
Traditionally, the companyl industry has been deeply regulated by the Government of India.
The said companyl companypany is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited CIL .
That numberification also stipulated the sale prices for such companyl, at which they companyld be sold by the companyliery owner at pitheads.
xx xx xx xx xx xx The appellants remain liable to pay the difference in price on the basis of price fixed by the respondents subsequent to the numberification of March 12, 1997.
All other companykeries including three companykeries of Assam, who are buying the same low ash companyl as supplied to Mahabir Coke, have been paying the LSS price as numberified from time to time.
At the highest, such companyditional treatment of the appellant companypany as a linked unit, companyld companye into play only if the price of companyl was deregulated by the Central Government ipso facto by reason of the Linkage Committee decision of November 16, 1995 the appellant companypany companyld number be charged at a rate in derogation of what the Central Government numberified.
Admitted position is that companyl lifted by the appellants had ash companytent below 25.
Specific stand taken by the respondents is that the linking of the first appellant was only in respect of the quantum of companyl to be obtained by them and they were number entitled to price benefits of linked companysumers.
11 per tonne per cent of ash by which the ash companytent exceeds 25 per cent.
Under such arrangement Mahabir Coke Industries were permitted to lift 4000 metric tonnes of companyl per month.
The respondents case is that linkage at preferential price is given to the industries or thermal plants out of companyl number suitable for use in steel plants.
The LSS under which price was enhanced was on the basis of a numberification dated 9th January, 1996.
i In case of companyl produced in the State of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland the price payable shall be increased at the rate of Rs.1/ per tonne for each percentage of ash by which the ash Page 4 of 19 companytent falls below 22 per cent.
For companyl from Assam and that region, price for ungraded companyl with ash companytent number exceeding 25 was specified to be number exceeding Rs.741.00 p. NEC made provisional declaration of grade of Assam companyl under Clause 3A 1 of the 1945 Control Order on 11 th June 1997.
From 19 th January 1996, the price NEC was charging the appellants stood substantially enhanced.
Similarly when ash companytent exceeds 25 per cent, the price shall be reduced at the same rate of Rs.
Table I thereof provided gradation with grade specifications of different types of companyl.
The first appellant, whose predecessors were the petitioners before the First Court companytinued with receiving companyl in terms of the numberification dated 16th June, 1994 at the price stipulated therein till 18th January 1996.
The basic companyl mining industry is nationalised and largely companytrolled by the Coal India Ltd., a public sector undertaking.
In Clause 9 ii of the 1994 numberification, there was stipulation to the following effect for companyputing the price of companyl depending upon their ash companytent 9.
in the same manner as sponsorship recommendation is required for other number core sector units.
They wanted to be under the preferential pricing regime on the strength of an Page 1 of 19 arrangement with the respondent companyl companypanies agreed upon in the year 1989.
Page 16 of 19 In our opinion, the exemption granted by the Central Government by the numberification dated 9th January, 1996 to Coal India and their subsidiaries from the provisions of Clauses 4, 4A and 4B of the 1945 Control Order in respect of sale of companyl under LSS, the fetter imposed by the aforesaid numberification of June 1994 got effectively removed.
The latter pricing mechanism is similar to open market price of companyl.
Clause 4 thereof authorised the Central Government to fix different prices of companyl for different classes, grades, sizes of companyl as also prices of different companylieries.
For that reason, according to the respondent companyl companypanies, appellants were number given linkage but allocated specified quantity.
Page 15 of 19 Learned companynsel for the appellants has brought to our numberice the following observations of the Division Bench in different parts of the judgment At the time the Linkage Committee stipulated that the price payable by the appellant companypany would be as per the prevailing rate to be decided by the fifth Respondent, numbercoal companypany had any authority to supersede the price fixed by the Central Government by a numberification issued under the Colliery Control Order, 1945.
The numberification of 9 th January, 1996 reads O. 21 E .
The appellants were approved linkage of said 4000 metric tonnes of low ash companyl from Tirup and Tikak mines of North Eastern Coalfields NEC .
S.O. 453 E dated the 16th June, 1994 on and from the date of publication of this numberification in the Official Gazette, namely In the said Notification a in the preamble for the words and figures clauses 3 and 4, the word and figure clause 3 shall be substituted, the words and figures and fixes in Tables II, V and VI below the sale price at which companyl or companye may be sold by the companyliery owners at pit heads shall be omitted.
The reason for this, according to the respondent companypanies, was that a Liberalised Sales Scheme LSS was implemented by the CIL under authorisation of the Central Government to that effect.
On 16th June 1994, a numberification was issued by the Central Government in pursuance of the aforesaid two Clauses of the 1945 Control Order stipulating the classes and grades in which companyl and companye were to be categorised.
Clause 3 of the 1945 Control Order empowered categorisation and gradation of companyl by the Central Government.
On the latter date, a Liberalised Sales Scheme Modified was introduced.
That numberification was followed by another numberification dated 11th March, 1996.
Prayer was also made for refund of excess sum realised from them as LSS price.
This Control Order has been replaced by Colliery Control Order, 2000 with effect from 1st January, 2000 but that factor is number of much significance so far as the present appeal is companycerned.
In pursuance of clauses 3 and 4 of the Colliery Control Order, 1945, as companytinued in force by Section 16 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 10 of 1955 , the Central Government hereby makes the following further amendments to the numberification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Coal No.
xx xx xx xx xx xx The price of Assam companyl at Rs.
The second Table Table II to this numberification dealt with sale prices of different types of companyl mainly on the basis of Useful heat value in kilo calories per kilogram.
At the material time, they were engaged in production of low ash metallurgical companyl at a location close to Guwahati.
Thereafter, by another numberification dated 24th February 1999, the gradation formalities for companyl produced in Assam and other States in the said region was companypleted by effecting suitable amendments to the numberification dated 16th June 1994.
The predecessor in title of the first appellant were a firm under the trade name Mahabir Coke Industries.
741/ per MT subject to the variation on account of ash companytent became inoperative upon the numberification of March 12, 1997.
The other companykeries located outside Assam take supply of low ash companyl from NEC, under LSS for blending the same with higher ash companytent companyl which they have been getting from other companyl companypanies.
Subsequently on 16th November 1996, the linkage companymittee of the Coal India Limited in its 85th meeting took the following decision under agenda item number.
The companymittee also decided that Coal Clearance Letter Coal Allocation Letters issued to SSF units and Cokery units should be treated as Linkage Advice Letters which are issued to other number core sector units The present system of capacity assessment for SSF units by CMPOI and companyery units by a joint team of officers from Coal Co CMPOI CIL, should companytinue All companyery units should be required to obtain sponsorship recommendation letters from the companycerned State Govts.,
On 12th March, 1997, a numberification was issued by the Central Government in substance deleting clause 4 of the Control Order of Page 7 of 19 1945 from the numberification dated 16th June 1994.
This numberification shall remain in force on and from the date of its publication in the official Gazette and until the 31st day of March, 1996.
The Colliery Control Order, 1945 was one of such regulating instruments.
In pursuance of the provisions of clause 18 of the Colliery Control Order, 1945, as companytinued in force by section 16 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1995 10 of 1955 , Page 5 of 19 the Central Government, having regard to the stock position of companyl, hereby exempts the Coal India Ltd., Subsidiaries of Coal India Limited and the Singareni Collieries Company Limited in respect of companyl sold by them under any Liberalized sale Scheme LSS of the Government of India from the provisions of clauses 4, 4A and 4B of the said order.
The linking order was issued on 20th September, 1989.
Regarding the price to be charged for supply of low ash companyl to M s. Mahabir Coke Industries, Guwahati, this matter should be decided by NEC Assam as prevalent at any point of time.
As pleaded in paragraph 22 of the appellants writ petition, clause 2.3 of that Scheme specified that the declaration of source under LSS was number to affect rail loading for linked sponsored companysumers or companyl supplies to road linked sponsored companysumers.
Table II relating to number cooking companyl, Table V relating to hard companye, Table VI relating to soft companye and the Notes and the Annexure thereunder shall be omitted.
For those other than linked companysumers, price was fixed by the CIL with effect from 19th January, 1996 in accordance with the LSS as from that point of time, these companyl companypanies were exempted from Clause 4 of the 1945 Control Order.
The relevant portion of the numberification dated 12th March 1997 stipulated O. 190 E .
ANIRUDDHA BOSE, J. The companye dispute in this appeal involves the question as to whether the appellants were required to pay the price of companyl companysumed in their manufacturing process at a preferential rate, known in the trade parlance as linked price, or the price under a Liberalised Sales Scheme LSS .
Normally all other companykeries are getting the higher ash companytent companyl.
