LexNOBLE RESOURCES AND TRADING INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED (EARLIER KNOWN AS ANDAGRO SERVICES PVT. LTD.) versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
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[2025] 5 S.C.R. 1983 : 2025 INSC 684 Noble Resources and Trading India Private Limited (Earlier Known as Andagro Services Pvt. Ltd.) v. Union of India & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 2572 of 2025) 14 May 2025 [Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan,* JJ.] Issue for Consideration Whether by way of the circular dated 30.01.2004 the benefits granted under the statutory notification dated 01.04.2003 could have been curtailed by expanding the exclusionary clause; whether crude degummed soyabean oil imported by the appellant is an agricultural product; what is an agricultural product. Headnotes† Customs Act, 1962 – s.25 – Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 – s.5 – Export-Import (EXIM) Policy of 2002-2007 – Show-cause notice was issued to the appellant stating that under the duty free credit entitlement scheme vide notification dtd. 01.04.2003, the appellant was not eligible for benefits on the import of crude degummed soyabean oil as it was an agricultural product, since goods in the nature of agricultural and dairy products were excluded under the said notification – Demand of duty confirmed by Assistant Commissioner – High Court upheld the levy of demand – Plea of the appellant that the benefit given by the statutory notification dtd. 01.04.2003 could not have been whittled down by the departmental circular dtd. 30.01.2004: Held: 1.1 The department could not, by issuing a circular subsequent to the notification, add a new condition to the notification thereby either restricting the scope of the exemption notification or whittle it down – By way of the circular dtd. 30.01.2004, Board could not have curtailed the benefits granted to the appellant under the statutory notification dtd. 01.04.2003 by expanding the scope of the exclusionary clause ‘other than agricultural and dairy products’. [Paras 33, 36] * Author 1984 [2025] 5 S.C.R. Supreme Court Reports 1.2 Under the notification dtd. 01.04.2003, exemption is granted when certain goods are imported into India against a duty free entitlement credit certificate issued under paragraph 3.7.2.1(vi) of the EXIM policy – The goods which are exempted from payment of customs duty etc. means capital goods, office equipments (including computer system, software, fax/machine, telephone) and raw materials, components, intermediates, consumables and parts other than agricultural and dairy – Thus, agricultural and dairy products are excluded from exempted goods – Agricultural and dairy products would not be covered by the notification dtd. 01.04.2003 and would be liable to pay customs duty, etc. on merit. [Para 29] 1.3 On the other hand, circular dtd. 30.01.2004 was issued by the Board following a clarification sought by DGFT from the Department of Revenue as to whether the restriction regarding agriculture and dairy products would apply to all products derived from agriculture/ dairy origin – Board clarified that the restriction regarding agriculture and dairy products as specified in the scheme for status holders and service providers shall mean that import of all types of products derived from agriculture/dairy origin including crude edible oil shall not be permitted – Hence, by way of the subsequent administrative circular dtd. 30.01.2004, the excluded goods of agricultural and dairy products as per the statutory notification dtd. 01.04.2003 has been enlarged to include all types of products derived from agriculture/dairy origin including crude edible oil. [Paras 29, 30] 1.4 A circular cannot take away the effect of a notification statutorily issued – Thus, the Board could not have expanded the scope of the expression ‘other than agricultural and dairy products’ as stipulated in the statutory notification dtd. 01.04.2003 to mean and include all types of products derived from agriculture/dairy origin including crude edible oil by way of the administrative circular dtd. 30.01.2004 – If this is accepted, it would amount to rewriting the conditions of exclusion from exempted goods statutorily provided in the notification dtd. 01.04.2003 which is impermissible – Thus, circular dtd. 30.01.2004 insofar it expands the exclusionary clause in the statutory notification dtd. 01.04.2003 has no legal consequence – The process carried out by the appellant using soyabean as raw material and ending in the product crude degummed soyabean oil is manufacturing – Crude degummed soyabean oil is not an agricultural product – Therefore, the
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