2003 (10) TMI 324 - AT - Customs

Refund - Claim pursuant to order of Tribunal - Unjust enrichment - Passing of burden of duty

Summary

Issues:
1. Refund claim filed by the appellants in pursuance of the Tribunal order.
2. Discrepancy in refund granted for three Bills of Entry.
3. Rejection of refund claim for one Bill of Entry due to missing Model number.
4. Burden of duty passed on to customers by the appellants.
5. Evidence provided by the appellants to support their claim.
6. Rebuttable presumption of passing on duty burden.
7. Rejection of refund based on the assumption of selling goods at a loss.
8. Rejection of refund for one Bill of Entry due to missing Model numbers.
9. Evidence presented by the appellants to establish correlation between imported and sold goods.

Analysis:

The appellants filed a refund claim following a Tribunal order that set aside the Customs Authority's decision to enhance the value of imported telephones. The adjudicating authority allowed a partial refund and credited the rest to the Consumers Welfare Fund, citing that the appellants sold the telephones at a lower price, which seemed implausible for three Bills of Entry. However, for one Bill of Entry, the claim was rejected due to the absence of the Model number of the telephone.

The appellants contended that they provided evidence, including a Chartered Accountant Certificate and local sale invoices, demonstrating that they did not pass on the duty burden to customers. The Revenue argued that no importer would sell goods at a loss. The law presumes that duty burden is passed on, but it is rebuttable. The appellants successfully showed through evidence that they did not pass on the duty burden, which the Revenue did not dispute, making the order to credit the amount to the Consumer Welfare Fund unsustainable.

Regarding the fourth Bill of Entry, the refund was denied solely because the Model numbers were missing. The appellants proved that the imported and sold telephones were of the same Model No. LS-827, supported by evidence like sample wrappers and invoices. This correlation between the imported and sold goods invalidated the Revenue's claim of no connection between the Model numbers, leading to the reversal of the impugned order and allowing the appeal.