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5. On processing of the application, the office of JCCI, Bombay, vide their letter dated 30th November, 1982, called upon the appellant to furnish the essentiality certificate from RCF. Accordingly, the appellant obtained the essentiality certificate from the project authority i.e. RCF, to the effect that they have agreed to purchase goods valued at Rs. 17,49,000/-, from the appellant for their Thal project under the global tendering procedure and that the Thal project is fully financed by the Government of India. In the certificate issued by RCF, it was also stated that the appellant was eligible for availing concessional rate of import duty on the raw materials imported by them for manufacture of cables in terms of para 14 of Import Policy 1981-82. The appellant forwarded the said certificate to JCCI, Bombay. In spite of clear knowledge that the Thal project of RCF was fully financed by the Government of India, the Controller of Imports & Exports, Bombay issued a Special Imprest Licence (SIL), to the appellant on 30th May, 1983, under AM 84 policy, permitting the appellant to import listed raw materials, for approximate value of Rs.5,78,300/-; without payment of customs duty. However, the licence was subject to the following conditions:

10.Aggrieved thereby, the appellant preferred second appeal before a Committee of Joint Director General of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.

11.During the pendency of the second appeal, the customs authorities sought to recover customs duty amounting to Rs.3,71,614.82 from the appellant in respect of the raw materials imported and cleared without payment of duty under the Special Imprest Licence (SIL) dated 30th May, 1983. The proposed action was challenged by the appellant by preferring Writ Petition No.2038 of 1988.  However, when the petition was taken up for final hearing on 21st October, 2002, counsel for the appellant volunteered to deposit the customs duty as demanded. Thereupon, counsel for the revenue made a statement that within two weeks of the deposit of the said amount, a proper show- cause notice shall be issued and the same would be adjudicated in accordance with law. The Writ Petition was, thus, disposed of on the same day. However, while disposing of the Writ Petition, it was ordered that appeal filed by the appellant against the order dated 21st May, 1986 shall be disposed of within a period of six months.

14.Being dissatisfied with order dated 22nd February, 2003, the appellant preferred a fresh Writ Petition in the Bombay High Court. During the pendency of the Writ Petition, the appellant sought leave of the Court to make a fresh representation to the concerned Ministry, seeking conversion of Special Imprest Licence (SIL) dated 30th May, 1983 into a Project Import Licence. However, the said representation was rejected on 22nd August, 2003 on the ground that there was nothing like "Project Import Licence"

and as the imports were made in the year 1983 when the Project Import Regulations of 1965 were in force, it was not possible to verify the conditions after twenty years.

15.In the judgment under appeal, after elaborate discussion and particularly having regard to the afore-extracted observations of second appellate authority in its order dated 18th June, 1992, the High Court came to the conclusion that : (i) forfeiture order against the appellant was uncalled for; (ii) even though the second appellate authority has held that there is no financial implication on account of the forfeiture order, yet on account of the said order, the appellant was made liable to pay entire customs duty with interest and penalty; (iii) the lapse on the part of licensing authorities in issuing a licence with Bond conditions which were impossible to perform had serious financial implications on the appellant; (iv) once it is accepted that it was a mistake to issue Special Imprest licence to the appellant and the conditions attached to the Bond and the licence were wholly impossible to perform, the licensing authorities ought to have taken remedial steps immediately, particularly when Rule 8 of the Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1963, empowered JCCI to rectify the error by amending the licence. Finally, the High Court disposed of the Writ Petition with the directions that : (a) in the light of  order dated 21st February, 2003, the Bond/bank guarantee executed by the appellant on 17th June, 1983 shall not be enforced; and (b) within six weeks from the date of its order, JCCI, Bombay shall amend the Special Imprest Licence (SIL) into a licence which may entitle the appellant to seek regularisation of the imports already made under the said licence at concessional rate of duty, if permissible under the Customs Act. However, the High Court declined to grant appellant's prayer for Cash Compensatory Support, hereinafter referred to as CCS, permissible under the Special Imprest Licence (SIL). It is this part of the order which is impugned in the present appeal.