- (1.) The petitioners filed this writ petition against the respondent customs authorities claiming of Rs. 39,984/- with interest on account of refund the customs duty collected from them on October 17, 2005 at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata (hereinafter referred to as "the said airport") on two television sets which they purchased in Singapore.
(2.) The petitioner No. 2 is the son of the petitioner No. 1. The petitioners claimed to be the members of a joint family, consisting of eight adult members and one minor member, maintaining the same domestic establishment at their residence at Salt Lake. On October 17, 2005 all the nine people, comprising their joint family of the petitioners, returned from Singapore by the same flight. When the petitioners produced the said two television sets to the customs authorities for clearance, the customs authorities did not find anything wrong in the said two television sets for clearance under the Customs Act, 1962 and the Baggage Rules, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as "the said Baggage Rules"). The petitioners claimed exemption of the entire amount of customs duty in respect of the said two television sets, on the ground that all the nine members of the joint family were travelling together, and the said televisions sets were to be used by members of their joint family. However, the respondent Nos. 2 and 3, the officials of the customs authorities at the said airport did not accept such contention of the petitioners and directed each of the petitioners to pay customs duty of Rs. 19,992/- (amounting to a total sum of Rs. 39,984/-) on account of each the said. Each of the petitioners paid the customs duty of the said amount of Rs. 19,992/-. The two receipts dated October 18, 2005 evidencing payment of the said sum of Rs. 19,992/- paid by each of the petitioners on account of the Customs duty imposed by the respondent Nos. 1 and 2 are disclosed in the writ petition. It appears that the each of the said television sets was purchased in the individual names of the petitioner No. 1 and the petitioner No. 2, respectively. From the said receipts, it is evident that value of each of the said television sets was Rs. 81,000/- and an allowance of Rs. 25,000/- was allowed in respect of each of the said television sets and thereafter customs duty was imposed at the rate of Rs. 19,992/- for each of the said television.
(3.) By a letter dated October 20, 2005 the petitioners' advocate called upon the respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 3 to refund of the said sum of Rs. 39,984/-. In the said letter dated October 20, 2005 the advocate of the petitioners reiterated that since all the nine members of the family of the petitioners landed at the said Airport on October 17, 2005 together, in terms of Section 79 of the Customs Act, read with Rule 2(iv) and Rule 3 (Appendix-'A') of the said Baggage Rules, they were entitled to exemption, by way of free allowance, on the entire value of the said television sets totaling Rs. 1,79,900/-. In reply, by two separate letters dated October 31, 2005, the respondent customs authorities refused to entertain the claim of the petitioners for refund. The customs authorities relied on the Explanation appearing below Appendix 'A' of Rule 3 of Baggage Rules 1998 that "the free allowance under this Rule shall not be allowed to be pooled with the free allowance of any other passenger.";