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Rectification of mistake in Tribunal's Final Order regarding maintainability of appeals based on assessment finalized on Bill of Entry without filing an appeal. Analysis: The issue at hand revolves around two applications seeking rectification of a mistake in the Tribunal's Final Order regarding the maintainability of appeals based on assessments finalized on the Bill of Entry without filing an appeal. The Appellant, represented by Shri V.S. Nankani, argued that the Tribunal erred in dismissing the appeals by relying on the decision in the case of Kopran Limited, which itself was based on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Flock (India) Pvt. Limited. The Appellant contended that the Supreme Court's judgment pertained to Central Excise matters, post-removal activities, and did not align with the Customs scheme for assessment and refund under Section 27 of the Customs Act. The Appellant emphasized that the phrase "in pursuance of an Order of assessment" in Section 27 clearly allowed for the filing of refund claims without challenging the assessment on the Bill of Entry, making the Tribunal's decision erroneous and necessitating rectification. On the other hand, the Respondent, represented by Shri Vikas Kumar, opposed the prayer for rectification, arguing that there was no apparent mistake on the face of the record under Section 129B of the Customs Act. The Respondent contended that the decision in the case of Flock (India) Pvt. Limited could be applied to Customs Act cases if the assessment on the Bill of Entry, an appealable order, had not been challenged. The Respondent maintained that the reliance on the Supreme Court's decision did not warrant rectification of mistake, as it was a matter of interpretation rather than a patent error. Upon considering the submissions from both sides, the Tribunal, comprising S/Shri V.K. Agrawal and P.S. Bajaj, found merit in the Respondent's argument that there was no patent error on the face of the record. The Tribunal cited the recent Supreme Court ruling in the case of CCE, Calcutta v. A.S.C.U. Limited, emphasizing that a mistake apparent from the record should not require a lengthy process of reasoning or involve debatable points of law. The Tribunal noted that the decision to reject the appeals based on the Appellants' failure to challenge the assessment on the Bill of Entry, as per the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of CCE v. Flock (India) Pvt. Limited, was a matter of interpretation and not a clear mistake. Therefore, the Tribunal concluded that the applications for rectification lacked merit and proceeded to reject them, upholding the original decision regarding the maintainability of the appeals.
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