W.P. No. 24408 of 2007 and M.P. Nos. 1 and 2 of 2007. Case: Beekey Enterprises Vs Quarantine Officer, Tamil Nadu. High Court of Madras (India)
| Case Number | W.P. No. 24408 of 2007 and M.P. Nos. 1 and 2 of 2007 |
| Judges | K. Chandru, J. |
| Issue | Customs & Central Excise |
| Citation | 2008 (228) ELT 182 (Mad) |
| Judgement Date | March 05, 2008 |
| Court | High Court of Madras (India) |
Order:
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I have heard the arguments of Mr. B. Kumar, learned Senior Counsel leading Mr. S.S. Radhakrishnan, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr. P. Wilson, learned Assistant Solicitor General of India representing the respondents and have perused the records.
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The writ petitioner is a proprietory concern and being aggrieved by the order of the first respondent Quarantine Officer in passing an order dated 19-4-2007 wherein and by which permission for clearing the consignment of Pig Bristles was refused on the ground of outbreak of Avian Influenza in the People''s Republic of China. The consignment was in respect of a Bill of Entry No. 436649 dated 11-4-2007.
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The petitioner claims to be a trader in supply of Processed Pig Bristles to the manufacturers of paint brushes since August 2006. It is stated that all the manufacturers of paint brushes procure the Pig Bristles from various parts of the world including the People''s Republic of China. The Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture, by a Notification dated 2-2-2007, prohibited the entry of "live pig and pig meat products" along with some other products. Thereafter, the Government of India vide Ministry of Commerce and Industry, by a further Notification dated 13-3-2007 issued similar Notification prohibiting the entry of live pig and pig meat products. In both the Notifications, the prohibited items were only pigs and pig meat products and import restriction for entry into India was placed.
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However, subsequently, on 5-6-2007, by a Notification No. S.O. 881(E), the said item was replaced with the following entry.
Live Pig and Pig Products (including Pig Bristles).
This was in replacement of the Notification dated 2-2-2007.
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In the meanwhile, the petitioner company have imported 1566 Kilos of double boiled white bristles (pig) from China under B.E. No. 436649 dated 11-1-2007. The clearance for this consignment was rejected by the first respondent Quarantine Officer by making a reference to the Notification dated 2-7-2007 as well as Office Notice dated 19-4-2007 issued by him.
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The relevant order passed by the first respondent reads as follows:
The above consignment of Pig Bristles cannot be allowed to enter into India keeping in view the outbreak of Avian Influenza in China.
It is therefore requested that the consignment may please be sent back to the country of origin or destroyed as the case may be under intimation to the Undersigned.
The petitioner was ordered to send the consignment back to the country of origin or destroy the same. Aggrieved by the same, the present writ petition has been filed.
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Mr. B. Kumar, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner brought to the notice of this Court the latest Notification dated 1-11-2007 issued by the second respondent in S.O. No. 1859(E) which reads as follows:
"S.O. 1859 (E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 3 and Section 3A of the Livestock Importation Act, 1898 (9 of 1898), the Central Government hereby amends the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries) number S.O. 1311 (E) dated 1st August, 2007, as follows:-
In the said notification in the first paragraph, for item number (vii), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
"(vii) live pig and pig products (except processed pig bristles)".
This notification shall come into force from the date of publication of the...
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