Howzzat? HC questions Sachin's 'duty free drive'

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">MUMBAI: A bitter-sweet PIL awaits Sachin Tendulkar in the Bombay High Court.<br /><br />In response to a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the Rs 1.5 crore import duty waiver on Sachin Tendulkar''s blazing-red Ferrari, the Central government has taken a stand that the waiver was "in public interest."<br /><br />To facilitate the batsman''s free Ferrari ride, the Centre had issued an adhoc exemption order on July 31 the day the gleaming car, 360 Modena F1, touched base in Mumbai. <br /><br />Tendulkar had requested the government to waive the customs duty which amounted to over Rs 1 crore. The exemption was granted on the condition that the batsman uses the car for his personal use only and should not sell or gift it for five years without prior permission from the ministry. The government said it had the power to grant an exemption under the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff Act.<br /><br />The cricketer''s decision to seek and accept the waiver had come in for a lot of criticism from citizens.<br /><br />The PIL filed by a Mumbai advocate V M Bharadwaj in January this year was scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, but was not listed on board. It will now come up for hearing next week. At the last hearing on July 16, Additional Solicitor General S B Jaisinghani was granted four weeks to file the government''s reply.<br /><br />The government''s affidavit justifying its stand will be tendered in court at the next hearing. The master blaster had sought an import duty exemption on the grounds that the car was a gift from Formula One champion Michael Schumacher on equalling Sir Don Bradman''s record of 29 Test centuries.<br /><br />The government is defending its decision by relying on the adhoc exemption order issued by the finance ministry. The order issued on the day the Ferrari, 360 Modena F1, touched base at Mumbai said the Centre was "satisfied" that the exemption was necessary in "public interest."<br /><br />Bharadwaj said he had moved the HC, as an honest tax payer, after reading a report in this newspaper in 2002 about the Centre''s largesse. He said the waiver ought to be cancelled as it was "manifestly illegal, against public interest and without jurisdiction." <br /><br />He named Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, former Communication Minister Pramod Mahajan and Sachin Tendulkar as respondents to the PIL. <br /><br />He said the Prime Minister and finance minister had no right to exceed their legislative authority to grant an exemption. The Centre, according to him, had not passed any Act or ordinance to justify the exemption.<br /><br />The PIL said the car could not have been a gift but was being labelled as one to avoid attracting income tax. The petition alleged that the ace batsman acquired the sizzling set of wheels from the Ferrari manufacturers in lieu of certain endorsements. Bharadwaj sought an inquiry to find out whether the car was indeed a gift.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court also issued notices to Sachin Tendulkar and the Union government in connection with the duty waiver on Ferrari.<br /><br />Justice Vikramjit Sen considered various media reports and suo motu asked representatives of the Union finance and sports ministries to appear before the court on August 19.<br /><br />The court appointed advocate Arjun Bhandari as amicus curiae, who stated that he would file a public interest litigation (PIL) in this regard. The court directed listing of the PIL before an appropriate Bench for further hearing. <br /><br />Sen referred to Wednesday''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Times of India </span>in which the "venerable R K Laxman" lampooned the government''s decision to grant the waiver. <br /><br />The cartoon depicts an old man blessing a child wielding a willow saying "May you become a super-player and may the finance ministry exempt all your income from soft drinks, toilet soaps, toothpaste from tax." <br /><br />Sen observed: "It reminds me of the adage that the greatest truths are spoken in jest." Sen said the matter would be treated as a public interest litigation since the waiver was given to the cricketer despite the fact that the government did not have money to increase the number of Arjuna awards for the country''s sportspersons.<br /><br />According to the court order, Tendulkar will be served notice through the Bombay Cricket Association and the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).<br /><br />Sen said: "The sports ministry has insisted that it will not consider increasing the number of Arjuna Awards and that financial contraints are believed to be the primary reason."<br /><br />Sen added that the duty waiver on Sachin''s car exemplifies profligacy in connection with cricket and parsimony when other sports are concerned. "It is also arguable that the grant of an exemption from payment of duty to an individual would offend Article 14 of the Indian Constitution," Sen said.</div> </div>