- (1.) This petition seeks a direction for payment of value of the material belonging to the petitioner i.e., goods seized by the respondents under the provisions of Central Excise Act, 1944 (for short, the 1944 Act') read with Customs Act, 1962 (for short, the 1962 Act'), which according to the petitioner have perished in the custody of the respondents for the reason of their failure to discharge the statutory duty.
(2.) Case set out in the petition is that on 19-4-2006, goods of MRP value of Rs. 50.55 lacs, belonging to the petitioner, stored in its godowns at Ahmedabad, were seized on the allegation that the same had been clandestinely removed by the manufacturer/seller, namely - Grover Sales : Corporation without payment of excise duty due. Seizure was effected under Section 110 of the Customs Act, which has been made applicable to the 1944 Act by virtue of a notification issued under Section 12 thereof. The manufacturer/seller made a deposit of the duty involved on 20-4-2006.
(3.) Section 110(1A) of the 1962 Act provides that in certain situations, including where the goods are perishable, the goods have to be disposed of after following the procedure specified therein. Relevant provisions of Section 110(1A) of the 1962 Act are extracted hereunder : "(1-A) The Central Government may, having regard to the perishable or hazardous nature of any goods, depreciation in the value of the goods with the passage of time, constraints of storage space for the goods or any other relevant considerations, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify the goods or class of goods which shall, as soon as may be after its seizure under sub-section (1), be disposed of by the proper officer in such manner as the Central Government may, from time to time, determine after following the procedure hereinafter specified.";