1. Both these appeals are taken up together for disposal/ as the issue involved are identical. The appeal by M/s. P.P. Products Pvt. Ltd. is directed against Order-in-Appeal No. 11/2002, dated 20-12-2002 and appeal by M/s. Tarajyot Polymers Pvt. Ltd. is directed against Order-in-Appeal No. 12/2002, dated 20-12-2002. In both these appeals, ld. Commissioner has upheld the order passed by the lower adjudicating authority and had rejected their appeals on the ground that Singanallur is not a specified Customs station as per the Board's Circular F. No.605/114/97-DBK (Circular No. 16/99-Cus.), dated 7-4-99 and hence clearances from the public bonded warehouse, CWC, Singanallur were held to be not entitled for using the DEPB scrips on the relevant dates.
2. Appearing on behalf of the appellants Shri K.S. Ravikumar, Advocate, invited our attention to Notification No. 34/97-Cus., dated 7-4-97 as amended, which is at Page 36 of the paper book and marked as Annexure-D, wherein in Para 2(iv) it has been mentioned that the said Duty Entitlement Pass Book shall be valid for import and export at ICD Singanallur which has been mentioned as one of the port where registration of the DEPB scrips could be utilised. Ld. Counsel also invited our attention to Coimbatore Commissionerate's Customs Public Notice No. 17/95, dated 4-12-1995, which is at Page 44 of the paper book and marked as Annexure-F, in which Commissioner of Customs, Coimbatore has specified customs area in respect of Inland Container Depot, Singanallur (Coimbatore) wherein godowns IV A and B of the Central Warehousing Corporation Complex is also mentioned and included in the area specified for the Inland Container Depot. Relevant portion of the Notification No. 34/97-Cus., dated 7-4-97 and the Customs Public Notice No. 17/95, dated 4-12-95 are extracted below: Exemption to imports made Duty Entitlement Pass Book. - In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts goods imported into India from - (1) the whole of the duty of Customs leviable thereon which is specified in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975); and (2) the whole of the additional duty leviable under Section 3 of the said Customs Tariff Act where specifically claimed by the importer, subject to the following conditions, namely: - (i) That the importer has been issued a Duty Entitlement Pass Book by the Licensing Authority in pursuance of paragraph 7.25 read with paragraph 7.29 of the Export and Import Policy (hereinafter referred to as said Duty Entitlement Pass Book).
(ii) The importer has been permitted credit entries in the said Duty Entitlement Pass Book at the rates notified by the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce for the products exported or has been allowed a provisional credit in the said Duty Entitlement Pass Book by the Licensing authority to be set-off by the credits earned on exports to be subsequently effected; (iii) The said Duty Entitlement Pass Book is produced before the proper officer of Customs for debit of the duties leviable on the goods but for exemption contained herein : Provided that exemption from duty shall not be admissible if there is insufficient credit in the said Duty Entitlement Pass Book for debiting the duty leviable on the goods but for this exemption.
(iv) The said Duty Entitlement Pass Book shall be valid for twelve months from the date of issue, for import and export only, at the port of registration which shall be one of the sea ports at Mumbai, Calcutta, Cochin, Kandla, Mangalore, Marmagoa, Chennai, Nhava Sheva, Paradeep, Tuticorin and Visakhapatnam and Kakinada, or any of the airports at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta, Coimbatore, Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Srinagar, Trivandrum, Hyderabad and Chennai or any of the Inland Container Depots at Bangalore, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gauhati, Kanpur, Pimpri (Pune), Pitampur (Indore), Moradabad, Ludhiana and Hyderabad, Nagpur, Agra, Faridabad, Jaipur, Guntur, Varanasi, Jodhpur, Salem, Tirupur, Singanallur, Waluj and Malanpur : Provided that the Commissioner of Customs may by special order and subject to such conditions as may be specified by him, permit imports and exports from any other sea port, airport, inland container depot or through a land customs stations; (v) The importer claiming exemption from duties against provisional credit permitted under paragraph 7.35 of 'Export and Import Policy' by the Licensing authorities, executes a bond in such form and for such sum, with such surety or securities as may be prescribed by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, binding himself to pay on demand duty leviable on goods imported but for the exemption contained herein together with interest at the rate of 24% per annum from the date of clearance in the event of his failure to make exports and earn credits thereon to set-off the provisional credits allowed : Provided that in case of import against provisional credits, the exemption shall be permitted only for such goods which are in the nature of inputs required for use in production of goods in the factory of the Duty Entitlement Pass Book holder or in the factory of supporting manufacturer in the said Duty Entitlement Pass Book and such inputs are not transferred, loaned, sold, parted with or disposed of in any manner, even after credits on exports to set-off provisional credits have been earned.
(vi) Where the importer does not claim exemption from the additional duty of customs leviable under Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), he shall be deemed not to have availed the exemption from the duty specified in the First Schedule to the said Customs Tariff Act for the purpose of calculation of the said additional duty of customs.
(vii) Where benefit of exemption from duty is claimed by a person, who is not a Duty Entitlement Pass Book holder, such benefit shall be permissible only against specific amount of credit, not being a provisional credit, transferred by a duty Entitlement Pass Book holder to such person.
Explanation .- For the purpose of this notification "Export and Import Policy" means the Export and Import Policy April, 1997 - March 2002 published vide notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce No. 1/1997-2002, dated the 31st March, 1997.
[Notification No. 34/97-Cus., dated 7-4-1997 as amended by Notifications No. 44/97-Cus., dated 12-5-1997; No. 66/97-Cus., dated 3-9-1997, No. 87/97-Cus, dated 27-11-1997; No. 65/98 Cus., dated 25-8-1998 and No. 101/98-Cus., dated 16-12-1998.) Declaration of Customs Area -- Inland Container Depot Singanallur (Coimbatore). [Coimbatore Commissionerate's Customs Public Notice No. 17/95, dated 4-12-1995] In exercise of the powers conferred upon the Commissioner of Customs under Section 8(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), I, A.P. Sudhir, Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Coimbatore hereby specify the Customs Area in respect of Inland Container Depot, Singanallur (Coimbatore) as under; (a) The entire vacant space and godowns situated at the southern side of Godown IVA & B of the Central Warehousing Corporation Complex, Neelikonampalayam, near Singanallur RS, Coimbatore-641 033, bound bySouth : S.F. No. 92 -- Public Passage & Railway land (b) Customs Office block -- situated on the southern side of CWC main office block.
He further submits that since they have rightly debited the credits in the Duty Entitlement Pass Book they are entitled to credit the same and are not required to pay duty as demanded. The Public Notice No. 17/95, dated 4-12-95 included public warehouse, CWC Singanallur where goods had been bonded and they are eligible to avail exemption in terms of the notification to get the duty debited through the Duty Entitlement Pass Book.
3. Heard ld. SDR Smt. Bhaghya Devi, who reiterates the departmental stand.
4. We have gone through the case records carefully and have perused the Notification No. 34/97-Cus., dated 7-4-97 as amended and also the Coimbatore Commissionerate's Customs Public Notice No. 17/95, dated 4-12-1995 issued from File C. No. VIII/43/1/94-Cus. Pol Vol. II and are of the considered opinion that Duty Entitlement Pass Book was valid for import and export at the ICD, Singanallur as per Para (iv) of Para (2) of the Notification. We also notice that the Commissioner of Customs, Coimbatore vide Public Notice No. 17/95, dated 4-12-95 had specified the customs area in respect of ICD, Singanallur, Coimbatore which included godowns IVA and B of Central Warehousing Corporation Complex, Neelikonampalayam, near Singanallur, RS, Coimbatore. Since ICD, Singanallur was one of the registered port for import and export under the DEPB, they were entitled for exemption from whole of duty of customs leviable thereon and the whole of additional duty of customs leviable on all goods imported into India. The appellants were entitled to debit the credits in the Duty Entitlement Pass Book and are not required to pay the duty as demanded. We, therefore, do not find the order of the ld. Commissioner (Appeals) sustainable and the same is set aside by allowing the appeals filed by the appellants. Ordered accordingly.