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Pursuant to enquiry made by the Revenue, the show cause notice dated 11/7/2014 was issued alleging the following: 

(a) The appellant/exporter have made excess export of 17625.465 MT of Buffalo Meat produced/procured in contravention of APEDA conditions and Chapter Note-6 of Chapter 2 of Schedule 2 of ITC (HS) Classification of Export and Import Items issued under Section 5 of Foreign Trade (D&R) Act, 1992 and such exports are prohibited under Section 11 of Foreign Trade (D&R) Act, 1992 ;

(b) The appellant/exporter have slaughtered more than 500 animals per day as against the approval from APEDA only for maximum 500 animals per day ;

3.2 Part-2 of The ITC (HS) Classifications of Export & Import Items contains Schedule-2 of the Export Policy deals with classification of Export products. The goods are classifiable in Chapter 2 of Schedule 2 of ITC (HS). The Chapter Notes to Chapter 2 had been substituted vide Notification No 82 (RE-2010)/2009-2014, New Delhi, dated 31st October, 2011 issued by Government of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department of Commerce. The effect of the amendment vide Notification No 82(RE-2010)/2009-2014, New Delhi, dated 31st October, 2011 are:

3.4 For the export purposes, frozen Boneless meat of Buffalo (both male and female) are classifiable at Sl. No. 19 (b) under Tariff item Code No.-020230 00 of Chapter 2 to Schedule 2 to ITC (HS) Classification of Export items and export of these products are Free subject to following restrictions/conditions mentioned in column 6 of chapter 2 to Schedule 2 of ITC(HS):-

(I). Production of a certificate from the Designated Veterinary Authority of the State, from which the meat or offals emanate, to the effect that the meat or offals are from buffaloes not used for breeding and milch purposes.

5.14 There is no provision to declare under Section 50 or 75 of the Act or under chapter Note 3, 6 & 8 to Chapter 2 of Schedule 2 of ITC(HS) Classification of Export and Import Items or under Rule 16 of the Drawback Rules, 1995 by the exporter about the number of Buffalo slaughtered per day in their Plant. In his statement dated 20.05.2013 Shri Baqar Abid, General Manager of appellant company agreed that during the months of November 2012 to February 2013, they had slaughtered more number of animals than 500 per day as mentioned in the Certificate by APEDA. Similarly Shri Haji Zaheer, Managing Director of the company vide his statement dated 21.05.2013 stated that they applied for enhancement of the number of buffaloes allowed to be slaughtered, and that is the reason they continued slaughtering more than 500 animals per day. In his statement dated 04.05.2014 Shri Baqar Abid categorically stated that they do not purchase any meat from outside and whatever they pack for export is slaughtered in their own slaughter house. It is alleged in Para 14 of the SCN that the appellant had exported a quantity of 17625.465 MT of Frozen Boneless Buffalo Meat in excess of the maximum production capacity which also includes the quantity of 2532 MT produced from unauthorized slaughtering. This allegation is vague without any supporting evidence and based on assumption and presumptions. The department has not produced any evidence as to from where, when and how the quantity of 2532 MT had reached the appellant Abattoir-Cum-Meat Processing Plant. An allegation cannot be leveled without supporting documents and other corroborative evidence and only on the basis of assumptions and presumptions. They have averred in no uncertain terms that all slaughtering of animals/buffaloes, even if more than 500 animals per day, has taken place in their Abattoir-cum-Meat Processing Plant which stand confirmed from the certificates issued by designated authority of State Government for each buffalo slaughtered in their Plant by testing and inspection of buffaloes in their plant only. Therefore, the allegation that they had purchased and sourced meat/carcasses from non APEDA approved sources is not correct and not sustainable.