In Mumbai Port Trust Vs M/s. Shri Lakshmi Steels, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the Board of Trustees of the Ports, which are creations of a statute, are entitled to charge demurrage and other charges from the importer even in respect of those periods during which the importer was unable to clear goods from the premises of the Board, for no fault or negligence on the part of the importer. The Boards were entitled to charge demurrage from the importer even when the importer was unable the clear the goods because of the detention thereof by the Customs authorities, which detention may later on have been found to be unjustified.
In CIVIL APPEAL NO. 12238 OF 2018, Pioneer Urban Land & Infrastructure Ltd. vs Govindan Raghavan, an appeal was filed before the Supreme Court by the builder against the order of the National Consumer Forum. The builder had relied upon various clauses of the Apartment Buyer’s Agreement to refute the claim of the respondent but was rejected by the commission which found the said clauses as wholly one-sided, unfair and unreasonable, and could not be relied upon. The Supreme Court on perusal of the Apartment Buyer’s Agreement found stark incongruities between the remedies available to both the parties. For example, Clause 6.4 (ii) of the Agreement entitles the Appellant – Builder to charge Interest @18% p.a. on account of any delay in payment of installments from the Respondent – Flat Purchaser. Clause 6.4 (iii) of the Agreement entitles the Appellant – Builder to cancel the allotment and terminate the Agreement, if any installment remains in arrears for more than 30 da...
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