SC seeks Centres reply on PIL alleging export of Iron ore in pellet form by evading export duty
New Delhi Sep 24 PTI The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to respond to a PIL which alleged export of iron ore in pellet form by some firms by evading duty The PIL also sought a direction to either ban the export or levy a 30 per cent duty on exports of iron ore in all forms including pellets NGO Common Cause in its PIL said the exports of iron ore pellets manufactured by government-approved Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited KIOCL may be exempted from the levy of 30 per cent export duty Issue notice a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said after taking note of brief submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan who appeared for the NGO The bench has sought responses from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade DGFT which is responsible for implementing the Foreign Trade Policy the Department of Revenue and the Pellet Manufacturers Association of India in four weeks The instant writ petition seeking an appropriate writ to the Union of India to completely ban the export of iron ore whether in the form of pellets or otherwise or in the alternative to levying an export duty of 30 on the export of iron ore in all forms including pellets except pellets manufactured and exported by KIOCL And also an appropriate writ to initiate proceedings under Section 11 of the Foreign Trade Development Regulation Act 1992 and Section 1351 of the Customs Act 1962 against the mining companies which have been exporting iron ore pellets in contravention of the provisions of Indias export policy thereby evading the export duty chargeable on the export of iron ore pellets and also direct a thorough and independent investigation into the role of public officials in allowing the same the PIL said By illegally exporting iron ore in the form of pellets the mining companies have been able to evade the mandatory export duty of 30 per cent which is otherwise levied on the export of iron ore and have also been able to evade the restriction related to Fe content the plea said It has come to light that many mining companies have been illegally exporting iron ore pellets by falsely declaring them under the ITC HS Code 26011210 thereby claiming full exemption of export duty even though as per the export policy conditions only Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited KIOCL Limited Bangalore or any entity authorised by KIOCL Limited Bangalore is allowed to export Iron ore pellets manufactured by KIOCL the plea said The brief hearing on the plea saw an exchange of words when lawyer M L Sharma who had filed the PIL on the same issue which is pending in the top court joined the virtual hearing as a caveator to oppose the PIL of the NGO being argued by Bhushan They have stolen my petition I spent money and filed the petition and at his behest my video connection was disconnected five times This is his regular practice he always steals my petition He is a copycat Sharma argued Your Sharma petition is already there Notice has been issued on that Does it stop Bhushan from filing another case We are allowing his petition and it does not mean that we are disallowing your plea the bench said The bench said that even before the lawyer for the petitioner starts arguing the case the caveator cannot object to the plea Mr Sharma you are not supposed to interject before the party has even opened the arguments this is very unfair the CJI said and after that Bhushan argued briefly about the PIL Why we respect you in that you expose things for good causes But others are also entitled to file PILs He Bhushan is filing this petition which will support your cause also the CJI told Sharma at the end of the proceedings Bhushan said that there were two issues in the PIL and the first was about the export of iron ore in any form as it has been held that such mining and export have led to over-exploitation of natural resources Even though the government says that an export duty has been imposed mining firms are exporting iron ore in the form of pallets and evading paying duty of 30 per cent he said He also referred to the apex court judgements on mining and export of iron saying that even a Parliamentary committee has said that export of iron ore should not be permitted at the cost of domestic companies To discourage the iron ore export an imposition of 30 per cent export duty has been provided Bhushan said adding that the ore has been exported in pellet form without paying the duty Bhushan said the increase in iron ore export not only adversely impacts the environment by leading to over-exploitation but also directly and severely impacts the domestic steel industry It is pertinent to mention herein that due to the increase in export of good quality iron ore in recent years the price of this raw material has drastically increased for the domestic steel industry increasing the input cost for all steel plants he said As a result the public at large is affected due to high prices of steel as the iron and steel industry is regarded as the backbone of the modern industrial economy in any developing country he said Earlier the top court had issued notice to the Centre and 61 iron exporting firms on Sharmas PIL seeking a direction to the CBI to register an FIR and probe the alleged duty evasion by them in exporting iron ore to China since 2015 PTI SJK SJK RKS RKS
New Delhi Sep 24 PTI The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to respond to a PIL which alleged export of iron ore in pellet form by some firms by evading duty The PIL also sought a direction to either ban the export or levy a 30 per cent duty on exports of iron ore in all forms including pellets NGO Common Cause in its PIL said the exports of iron ore pellets manufactured by government-approved Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited KIOCL may be exempted from the levy of 30 per cent export duty Issue notice a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said after taking note of brief submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan who appeared for the NGO The bench has sought responses from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade DGFT which is responsible for implementing the Foreign Trade Policy the Department of Revenue and the Pellet Manufacturers Association of India in four weeks The instant writ petition seeking an appropriate writ to the Union of India to completely ban the export of iron ore whether in the form of pellets or otherwise or in the alternative to levying an export duty of 30 on the export of iron ore in all forms including pellets except pellets manufactured and exported by KIOCL And also an appropriate writ to initiate proceedings under Section 11 of the Foreign Trade Development Regulation Act 1992 and Section 1351 of the Customs Act 1962 against the mining companies which have been exporting iron ore pellets in contravention of the provisions of Indias export policy thereby evading the export duty chargeable on the export of iron ore pellets and also direct a thorough and independent investigation into the role of public officials in allowing the same the PIL said By illegally exporting iron ore in the form of pellets the mining companies have been able to evade the mandatory export duty of 30 per cent which is otherwise levied on the export of iron ore and have also been able to evade the restriction related to Fe content the plea said It has come to light that many mining companies have been illegally exporting iron ore pellets by falsely declaring them under the ITC HS Code 26011210 thereby claiming full exemption of export duty even though as per the export policy conditions only Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited KIOCL Limited Bangalore or any entity authorised by KIOCL Limited Bangalore is allowed to export Iron ore pellets manufactured by KIOCL the plea said The brief hearing on the plea saw an exchange of words when lawyer M L Sharma who had filed the PIL on the same issue which is pending in the top court joined the virtual hearing as a caveator to oppose the PIL of the NGO being argued by Bhushan They have stolen my petition I spent money and filed the petition and at his behest my video connection was disconnected five times This is his regular practice he always steals my petition He is a copycat Sharma argued Your Sharma petition is already there Notice has been issued on that Does it stop Bhushan from filing another case We are allowing his petition and it does not mean that we are disallowing your plea the bench said The bench said that even before the lawyer for the petitioner starts arguing the case the caveator cannot object to the plea Mr Sharma you are not supposed to interject before the party has even opened the arguments this is very unfair the CJI said and after that Bhushan argued briefly about the PIL Why we respect you in that you expose things for good causes But others are also entitled to file PILs He Bhushan is filing this petition which will support your cause also the CJI told Sharma at the end of the proceedings Bhushan said that there were two issues in the PIL and the first was about the export of iron ore in any form as it has been held that such mining and export have led to over-exploitation of natural resources Even though the government says that an export duty has been imposed mining firms are exporting iron ore in the form of pallets and evading paying duty of 30 per cent he said He also referred to the apex court judgements on mining and export of iron saying that even a Parliamentary committee has said that export of iron ore should not be permitted at the cost of domestic companies To discourage the iron ore export an imposition of 30 per cent export duty has been provided Bhushan said adding that the ore has been exported in pellet form without paying the duty Bhushan said the increase in iron ore export not only adversely impacts the environment by leading to over-exploitation but also directly and severely impacts the domestic steel industry It is pertinent to mention herein that due to the increase in export of good quality iron ore in recent years the price of this raw material has drastically increased for the domestic steel industry increasing the input cost for all steel plants he said As a result the public at large is affected due to high prices of steel as the iron and steel industry is regarded as the backbone of the modern industrial economy in any developing country he said Earlier the top court had issued notice to the Centre and 61 iron exporting firms on Sharmas PIL seeking a direction to the CBI to register an FIR and probe the alleged duty evasion by them in exporting iron ore to China since 2015 PTI SJK SJK RKS RKS
