- (1.) Civil Appeal No. 6021/2009 arise out of the final judgment of the High Court of Bombay dated 9-12-2003 [2006 (198) E.L.T. 335 (Bom.)] in a Reference Application under Customs Act no. 2 of 2003 and Civil Appeal Nos. 6072-6073 of 2009 arise out of judgment dated 21-2-2007 passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, West Zonal Bench, Ahmedabad in Customs Appeals Nos. 680 and 681 of 2003. It is not necessary to give the full factual details of the Civil Appeals. To indicate the background of these appeals, we may state the most basic facts, of Civil Appeal No. 6021 of 2009, relevant for this order.
(2.) A show cause notice under Section 28(1) of the Customs Act was issued to the respondent-Company proposing to recover some duty which was not paid by the respondent in connection with certain transactions of import of Low Ash Matellurgical Coke claiming the benefit of certain advance licences allegedly purchased by the respondent Company. The licences, it appears, were originally granted in favour of some other entity and were transferred on more than one occasion. After the import was completed at some stage, the appellants opined the licences were not valid licences at the point of time of the imports made by the respondents. Therefore, the notice under Section 28(1).
(3.) Admittedly the show cause notice under Section 28(1) was issued by the appellants beyond a period of six months reckoned from the relevant date. However, that period of six months was required to be substituted with a period of 5 years in certain contingencies under the proviso to Section 28(1) as it stood at the point of time relevant to the facts of the case.;