Brijesh Kumar, J. - (1.) This appeal has been preferred by the Commissioner of Customs (Import), Mumbai, against the order dated 14-12-1999 passed by the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, West Regional Bench, Mumbai, in appeal, setting aside the order of confiscation of the imported equipment as well as the penalty imposed. The liability of customs duty was however upheld, though found to be unenforceable, as the show cause notice issued was not a valid notice.
(2.) M/s. Jagadish Cancer and Research Centre, Hyderabad (to be referred as 'Centre') applied for duty free clearance of a consignment importing Teletherapy Unit (Theratron 780-C) for its use under notification No. 64/88 - Cus. Dated 1-3-1988, issued under Section 25 (1) of the Customs Act, 1962. The Central Government under the aforesaid notification exempted all apparatus and appliances etc. as hospital equipments essential for use in any hospital on being satisfied that it would be necessary in the public interest to do so. It is however subject to certain conditions which have been specified in the said notification as under :- "2. All such hospitals which may be certified by the said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in each case, to be run for providing medical, surgical or diagnostic treatment not only without any distinction of caste, creed, race, religion or language but also, - (a) free, on an average, to at least 40 percent of all their outdoor patients; and (b) free to all indoor patients belonging to families with an income of less than rupees five hundred per month, and keeping for this purpose at least 10 per cent of all the hospital beds reserved for such patients; and (c)********** ." Condition No. 4 (iii) reads as under :- "4. Any such hospital which is in the process of being established and in respect of which the said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is of opinion - (i) and (ii) ********** (iii) that such hospital would be in a position to start functioning within a period of two years, and (iv) .********** " The request of the Centre was accepted and the consignment was cleared on 23-8-1989 free of duty.
(3.) The Department found that the Centre had failed to produce the installation certificate in terms of Condition No. 4 (iii) of the Notification and had also failed to observe other conditions, so the imported goods were liable to confiscation. Consequently the imported equipment was seized by the Department on 22-1-1998. The Assistant Commissioner of Customs issued a notice to the Centre to show cause to the Adjudicating Authority, as to why cutoms duty amounting to Rs. 64,93,598/- be not demanded and the Teletherapy Unit be confiscated under Section 111 (0) and for imposition of penalty under Section 112 of the Customs Act.;