1 ORDER
SHEET APO No.101 of 2013 CP No.232 of 2007 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Civil Appellate Jurisdiction ORIGINAL SIDE In the Matter of : Delta Ware House (P) Ltd (In Liquidation) TOLARAM (I) LTD Versus THE OFFICIAL LIQUIDATOR & ANR BEFORE: The Hon'ble JUSTICE BANERJEE The Hon'ble JUSTICE ASHOKE KUMAR DASADHIKARI Date :
1. t April, 2013.
Appearance: Mr.P.K.
Ghosh, Sr.Advocate with Mr.M.C.
Ghosh and Mr.Amlanjyoti Sengupta Ld.
Advocates for the appellant.
Mr.R.Bharadwaj with Mr.K.K.
Maiti, Ld.
Advocates for the Customs Authorities.
Ms.Ruma Sikdar, ld.
Advocate for the Official Liquidator.
The Court :- MRS.Sikdar represents the Official Liquidator.
MRS.Sikdar points out, she was all throughout present.
However, on March 12, 2013 she was stuck up elsewhere.
She could not be present.
Since MRS.Sikdar represents the Official Liquidator, service of notice of appeal upon the Official Liquidator is dispensed with.
Tolaram (India) PVT.LTD.is the owner of the premises no.15B, Garden Reach Road, Kolkata-24.
They let out the said premises to M/S.Delta Warehouse PVT.Ltd., who would use the same for warehousing purpose after obtaining necessary licence from the Customs Authorities.
Delta went into liquidation, when the goods belonged to Alliance Overseas an importer was stored in the godown.
The importer could not pay the duty, as a result the Customs Authorities confiscated the goods.
In the meantime, the Company being Delta Despite repeated Warehousing orders passed went by into the liquidation.
learned Company Judge, the Customs Authorities delayed clearance of the goods.
Significant to note, once the duty was not cleared by the importeRs.the ownership would automatically shift to the customs for payment of duty.
Accordingly, the goods were confiscated.
However, the warehouse had a lien over the goods for unpaid rent.
The Customs Authorities sold the goods and got it cleared in terms of the order of the Court.
A sum of Rs.1.9 lacs was paid to the Customs Authorities by the buyer.
Balance sum of Rs.17.1 lacs was kept in deposit.
The learned Single Judge, however, subsequently directed release of the said sum of Rs.17.1 lacs to the Customs Authorities ignoring the claim of the warehouse, that would belong to the Company (In Liquidation).Tolaram (India) LTD.is objecting to such release as according to them the money should go to the Company (In liquidation) for appropriating the rent that would be payable by Alliance Overseas for warehousing of the goods.
Tolaram would claim, they have a rent due to the extent of Rs.44 lacs approximately.
In this backdrop, we feel, it would not be proper to allow the entire sum to be released to the Customs Authorities before the claim is adjudicated in terms of the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956.
Hence, the appeal succeeds.
The order impugned is set aside.
We permit Tolaram as well as Customs Authorities to raise their rival claims before the Official Liquidator.
The Official Liquidator would also invite claim, if any, to be made by any other creditor of the Company (In Liquidation) and then settle all the claims in accordance with the provisions of Sections 529, 529A and 530 of the Companies Act, 1956 and pay dividend to the claimants in accordance with law.
Till then, the money would be kept in fixed deposit.
All such claims must be filed within a period of 4 weeks from date.
This appeal is disposed of without any order as to costs.
(BANERJEE, J.) (ASHOKE KUMAR DASADHIKARI, J.) dg/