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D. Murali

IN the fight against HIV, Femidom is the only female-controlled barrier, informs Belinda Beresford in a story dated December 5 on Mail & Guardian Online (www.mg.co.za) .

It seems that "an as-yet unpublished study in South Africa found that 80 per cent of men liked the female condom, and the same percentage of women agreed," and that "in Sri Lanka female sex workers can charge clients more for the opportunity of using a female condom - and especially for the privilege of inserting it."

Taxmen go about things differently, as you know, which is how Shangrila Latex Industries P Ltd, a 100 per cent EOU (export oriented unit) engaged in the manufacture of hand gloves and women condom of latex rubber, came under unkind focus.

Excise officials visited Shangrila's factory in 1992, conducted stock verifications, and "seized various private records," which seemed to show a production higher than what was recorded in official registers.

During `post seizure investigation' Sanjay C.Munshi, the company's Managing Director, explained the reason for discrepancy thus: "Production of any day accounted by the production department as finished goods did not constitute finished goods as far as their export department was concerned, for the reason that the product is first air-tested at which stage there are rejections and wastages."

Air-tested products were sent to quality control department; and after approval, goods were packed manually, simultaneously subjected to visual inspection.

Thus, finished products produced on a particular date became finished product for exports after a considerable length of time, said Munshi. The company's production-in-charge deposed that they had not started the production of `women condoms' but only conducted trial experiments. All that didn't deter the Department from raising a demand for duty amounting to Rs 99,60,733, saying that the company had cleared `hand gloves/women condoms' clandestinely without payment of duty.

"The notice also proposed imposition of penalty and confiscation of land, building, plant and machinery."

Shangrila went on appeal and argued that the condoms in question were manufactured on trial basis as research and development; and that the condoms were "the invention of one NRI Doctor A.V.Reddy, who was not allowed to market the said product in USA"; and that both the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare found the same unacceptable and so there was no question of selling the product in the domestic market.

"They also submitted that in 1990, a question was raised in the Lok Sabha regarding the suitability of condom under Indian conditions and in response the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare clarified that no study has been carried out to assess its suitability in India."

The Commissioner, however, "went by the figures as recorded in private records", and so an aggrieved Shangrila approached the Mumbai Tribunal, where Archana Wadhwa and M. Moheb Ali heard the case.

Allegations of clandestine removal are to be proved by the Revenue by production of sufficient and tangible evidence, observed the Tribunal.

The Revenue has not rebutted "the appellant's stand that the female condom production was only on the basis for research and development purpose and was not having any market," said the Tribunal, setting aside the Department's order.

While that should make Shangrila happy, women in South Africa aren't pleased with the Department of Health's distribution programme, as one learns from Charlene Smith's story dated November 27 on Sunday Independent (www.sundayindependent.co.za) .

"Basic maths shows that 1.4 million female condoms among 24 million women means they should have sex only once every four to five years, because the department is distributing 0.058 condoms for each woman," writes Smith. Who will tell the Department?

ExParte@TheHindu.co.in

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