G.K. Mitter, J. - (1.) This is an appeal from a decree dismissing the Plaintiff's suit for recovery of Rs. 29,300 on the basis of a declaration that the Plaintiff was entitled to a credit of the said sum wrongfully debited in the Plaintiff's account with the Defendant Union of India and for other reliefs.
(2.) The suit arose as follows: In connection with its business of manufacturers and dealers in steel the Plaintiff has to import various goods from abroad. For the purpose of quick clearance of the goods from the Customs department in the port of Calcutta it has been maintaining a current account with the Collector of Customs functioning under the Sea Customs Act of 1878 whereunder the Plaintiff has been keeping with the said Collector a deposit of a large sum, of money and the Collector has been debiting the amounts which might be due by the Plaintiff as and by way of import duties and other charges assessed on goods imported by the Plaintiff through the port of Calcutta. As and when goods imported by the Plaintiff arrived in the port of Calcutta the Plaintiff's clearing agents filed bills of entry showing the necessary particulars of the goods imported. Thereafter the said agents were allowed to clear the goods from the Calcutta port while the duties were actually assessed sometime afterwards by Customs officers and when they were so assessed the amounts were debited in the Plaintiff's account maintained with the Collector of Customs. In October/November 1945, the Plaintiff imported a consignment of machinery per S.S. West Point. The Plaintiff's clearing agents M/s. Calcutta Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. duly tiled a bill of entry showing particulars of the said consignment. Thereafter the Plaintiff's agents were allowed to clear the goods prior to the assessment of duties by Customs officers. The Plaintiff alleges in the plaint that the servants of the Union of India at the Custom House, Calcutta, appear to have wrongfully debited on or about June 1951, the sum of Rs. 34,017 ,9 in the Plaintiff's said current account in respect of the duty on the said consignment whereas on proper calculation the sum of Rs. 4,717 ,9 as only was due and payable thereon. The Defendants admitted in correspondence prior to the suit that the debit had been made through mistake, but they refused to refund the sum of Rs. 29,300 relying on Sec. 40 of the Sea Customs Act.
(3.) In the written statement filed the Defendants stated that the Plaintiff maintained a deposit account with the Collector of Customs under the provisions of Sec. 41 of the Sea Customs Act, a facility granted to the Plaintiff for payment of Customs duty through the said account instead of payment in cash. Bills of entry used to be assessed upon presentation for appraisement and duty was subsequently realised by debiting the deposit account of the Plaintiff. The Defendants admitted that the sum of Rs. 34,017 ,9 as was debited through inadvertence and this was due to an error in totalling several figures which actually added to Rs. 4,7179 as. in place of Rs. 34,017 ,9 as. After entry of several items on June 21, 1951, the Pass Book relating to the Plaintiff's account was returned to the Plaintiff's clearing agents on July 3, 1951. The Plaintiff had sufficient time to check up the entries and make claims for refund under the provisions of Sec. 40 of the Sea Customs Act. At the date when refund was asked for on March 17, 1952, the said claim had already been time barred.;