SC reprieve for Reliance Petroleum

The Supreme Court has held that second hand cranes imported by Reliance Petroleum Ltd from Europa BV of Holland in knocked down condition for setting up crude petroleum refinery were exempt from Customs duty.

The Customs authorities had questioned the application of certain exemption notifications dated March 1, 1997 and June 13, 1997 granting exemption to various imported goods, including second hand mobile cranes required for setting up oil refinery.

They had maintained that a crane when placed on a vehicle was a `motor vehicle' and would fulfil the description of a mobile crane or a `material handling equipment,' thus was not eligible for concessional duty. The court rejected these contentions and stated that the crane imported by the company in the knockdown condition would attract the benefit of the exemption under the notifications.