Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal - Tamil Nadu
Union Trading Company vs C.C.E. And Cus. (Appeals) on 4 October, 1994
Equivalent citations: 1995ECR343(TRI.-CHENNAI), 1995(77)ELT394(TRI-CHENNAI)
ORDER V.P. Gulati, Member (T)
1. This appeal is against the order of the Collector of Customs and Central Excise (Appeals), Madras. Under the impugned order, Cassia which was imported against the licence for Cinnamon valued at Rs. 60,300/- has been confiscated and allowed redemption on fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-.
2. The learned Consultant for the appellant pleaded that Cinnamon and Cassia are one and the same commodity and therefore the learned lower authority was in error in having held that the licence meant for Cinnamon would not cover the import of Cassia. When asked as to why the appellant therefore did not declare the goods as Cassia as against the licence for Cinnamon, Cassia had been imported, he has no explanation to offer in this regard. However, he pleaded that both Cinnamon and Cassia fall under the same category and fall under the same customs tariff. He, however, fairly conceded that so far as the Import and Export Policy is concerned, Cinnamon and Cassia are shown as separate items. As an alternate plea he has pleaded for reduction of the redemption fine.
3. Shri J.M. Jeyaseelan, the learned DR pleaded that the learned lower authority has considered the appellant's pleas at length and has clearly brought out that Cinnamon and Cassia are two different commodities. He pleaded that in view of the mis-declaration involved, no leniency should be shown in the matter of reduction of redemption fine.
4. I have given a careful thought to the pleas made before me. I find that in the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica', 'Cassia' has been described as under :
"CASSIA - Cassia, also called CHINESE CINNAMON, spice consisting of the aromatic bark of the Cinnamomum cassia plant of the family Lauraceae. Cassia bark is similar to true Cinnamon but has a more pungent, less delicate flavour and is thicker than Cinnamon bark".
'Cinnamon' has been described as under :
"CINNAMON - Cinnamon, bushy evergreen tree, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, of the family Lauraceae native to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the neighbouring Malabar coast of India, and Burma and also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The spice is light brown in colour and has a delicately fragrant aroma and warm, sweet flavour. Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold".
5. It is seen that both Cinnamon and Cassia are extracted from different trees. While these two may be similar they cannot be considered to be the same for the purpose of importation. It is further seen that the licensing authorities have listed Cinnamon and Cassia, as pointed out by the learned Consultant himself, as separate items in the Import and Export Policy. In view of the above, it is to be held that the licence granted for Cinnamon cannot be valid for the import of Cassia. It is further seen that the appellants were aware of the nature of the goods and tried to mis-lead the authorities by mis-declaring the goods as Cinnamon. In view of the above, I hold that the learned lower authority has rightly held the goods to be confiscable. No facts have been brought on record to show that the redemption fine fixed as Rs. 1,00,000/- having regard to the margin of profit is in anyway excessive. It may be mentioned that the upper limit for fixing redemption fine under Section 125 of the Customs Act is the market value of the goods and it is not the case of the appellant that the fine fixed exceeds this norm. In view of the above, there is no warrant to reduce the redemption fine as pleaded by the appellant. I therefore reject the appeal.