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25/2010-Cus., dated 27-2-2010 exempting goods falling under Tariff Item 2716 00
00 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, when imported into In-
dia, from the whole of the duty of Customs leviable thereon which was specified
in the said First Schedule. The proviso thereto provided that nothing contained
in the notification shall apply to electrical energy falling under Tariff Item 2716
00 00 removed from a Special Economic Zone to the Domestic Tariff Area or non-
processing areas of Special Economic Zones.
4.4 On 27-2-2010, the petitioner company received a letter dated 26-2-
2010 from the fourth respondent - Specified Officer, in charge of Mundra Special
Economic Zone, Mundra, requesting it to start payment of duty immediately
with retrospective effect from 26th June, 2009. Being aggrieved, the petitioners
approached this Court by way of a writ petition being Special Civil Application
No. 3142 of 2010 [2015 (330) E.L.T. 883 (Guj.)] challenging the validity of Notifica-
tion No. 25/2010-Cus., dated 27-2-2010 as well as Notification No. 21/2002-Cus.,
dated 1-3-2002 (Serial No. 573 of the Table) as amended by clause 60 of the Fi-
nance Bill read with Notification No. 25/2010-Cus., dated 27-2-2010.
4.5 During the pendency of the said writ petition, the Central Govern-
ment issued Notification No. 91/2010-Cus., dated 6-9-2010, whereby the entry at
Serial No. 573 in the Table to Notification No. 21/2002-Cus., dated 1-3-2002 came
to be substituted prescribing a particular rate of Customs duty (i.e. Rs. 100/- per
1000 kwh) for electricity removed from SEZ to DTA or non-processing areas of
SEZ. The petitioners, therefore, moved a civil application being Civil Application
No. 1173 of 2010 for amendment of the writ petition challenging the validity of
the above notification, which came to be allowed by an order dated 21-9-2010.
4.6 Vide Notification No. 12/2002-Cus., dated 17-3-2012, Notification
No. 21/2002-Cus., dated 1-3-2002 came to be rescinded. However, in Entry at
Serial No. 145 in the Table to Notification No. 12/2012-Cus., dated 17-3-2012, the
same rate of duty as mentioned in Notification No. 21/2002, dated 1-3-2002, as
amended came to be continued.
4.7 Subsequently, vide Notification No. 26/2012-Cus., dated 18-4-2012,
the said Entry at Serial No. 145 in the Table to Notification No. 12/2002-Cus.,
dated 17-3-2012 came to be substituted prescribing a new rate of duty (i.e. from
Rs. 100/- per 1000 kwh to Rs. 30/- per 1000 kwh) for electricity removed from
SEZ to DTA or non-processing areas of SEZ.
4.8 By a judgment and order dated 15-7-2015, a Division Bench of this
Court allowed the writ petition and set aside the proviso to notification No.
25/2010-Cus., dated 27-2-2010 as being ultra vires Articles 14 and 265 of the Con-
stitution of India. The Court further held that the petitioners are entitled to ex-
emption from payment of customs duty for the period 26-6-2009 to 15-9-2010 on
the electricity cleared to DTA from SEZ.
4.9 Since the relief granted in the said petition was limited to the period
26-6-2009 to 15-9-2010, the petitioners moved a Note for Speaking to the Minutes,
seeking rectification of the above judgment and order which came to be dis-
missed as not pressed by an order dated 6-8-2015.
4.10 Being aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 17-7-2015
passed by this Court in Special Civil Application No. 3142 of 2010, the Central
Government filed Special Leave Petition (C) No. 30868 of 2015 before the Su-
preme Court, which came to be dismissed by an order dated 20-11-2015 [2016
(331) E.L.T. A129 (S.C.)].
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