2010 (7) TMI 836 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues: Rectification of mistake in the order, non-consideration of earlier remand order, entitlement to interest, compliance with directions in remand order, applicability of Nelco Ltd. decision, refund sanction timeline.

Rectification of Mistake in the Order: The appellants sought rectification of mistake in the order, alleging that the Tribunal erred by not considering that the lower authorities did not follow the previous remand order. They argued that the lower authorities were required to decide the issue based on settled law as per the Bombay High Court's decision in Nelco Ltd. v. UOI. The Tribunal observed that the deposits made as per the Settlement Commission's directions should be treated as pre-deposits under Section 35F, and the lower authorities had exceeded the remand order's directions.

Entitlement to Interest: The appellants contended that even if interest from the date of the Settlement Commission's order was not granted, they should still receive interest from the date of the Commissioner's order. They argued that since the Commissioner's order was issued on a specific date and the refund was granted later, they were entitled to interest for the intervening days.

Compliance with Directions in Remand Order: The Tribunal clarified that the remand order did not specifically direct the lower authorities to follow the Bombay High Court's decision in Nelco Ltd. Instead, it required a fresh decision based on observations and settled legal positions. The Tribunal noted that the lower authorities had considered the Board's circular and legal positions in their decision, and the order was deemed correct.

Applicability of Nelco Ltd. Decision: The Tribunal distinguished the present case from Nelco Ltd., where the matter had attained finality after the Tribunal's decision in favor of the petitioner. In contrast, in the current case, the appellants had deposited the duty liability, and the matter was sent back for adjudication by the Commissioner. The Tribunal held that the Nelco Ltd. decision could not be applied in this scenario, and the Board's circular was correctly applied.

Refund Sanction Timeline: The Tribunal analyzed the timeline for refund sanction as per the Board's circular, which required pre-deposits to be returned within three months from the final authority's order unless stayed. Since the Commissioner's order dropped proceedings, the refund should have been sanctioned within three months from that date. Consequently, the Tribunal granted interest to the appellants for the delay in refund sanction.

In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the rectification of mistake application to the extent that the refund timeline was clarified, and interest for the delay was granted based on the Board's circular provisions. The decision emphasized the importance of following remand order directions and correctly applying legal precedents to each case's specific circumstances.