P.C.Borooah, J. - (1.)In or about August 1978 the petitioners in these three Rules imported consignments of Soda Ash of light variety from Rumania for their use in their factories for the manufacture of Sodium Silicate. On arrival of the goods at the port of Calcutta, the goods were not immediately cleared for home consumption, but were kept in a bonded warehouse without payment of any duty thereon under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Thereafter parts of the consignments were cleared by the three petitioners on payment of the relevant customs duty chargeable on the relevant date.
(2.)On January 4, 1979 the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue issued two Notifications under Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter 'the Act') exempting Soda Ash of both the light and dense varieties from the payment of certain portion of the Customs Duty and the whole of the auxiliary duty leviable under Sub-section (1) of Section 35 of the Finance Act. Copies of these two Notifications are annexures 'A' and 'B' to the petition in the three cases.
(3.)Thereafter the petitioners applied to the Customs Authorities for clearance of the balance of the goods from the bonded warehouses for home consumption under the provisions of Section 68 of the Act claiming the benefit of the two Notifications dated January 4, 1979. When the Customs Authorities declined to give the petitioners the benefit of the said Notifications and demanded the full Customs Duty and the auxiliary duty chargeable, they came up before this Court and obtained the present Rules, and by virtue of the interim orders cleared the goods by furnishing the requisite Bank guarantees.