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Issues involved: Delay in filing appeal, amendment of Bill of Entry, refund of customs duty, interpretation of Sections 149 and 154 of the Customs Act, 1962.
The respondent imported folder material for advertisement from M/s. Swarovski, Austria, with a claimed mistake in declaring the value in Euro instead of Indian rupees. Customs duty was paid, and an application for amendment of the Bill of Entry was made to correct the error and claim a refund of &8377; 5,55,687. The adjudicating authority rejected the claim as time-barred, without addressing the mistake issue or the permissibility of amendment u/s 149 and 154 of the Act. The first appellate authority upheld the rejection as being within the limitation period. The High Court upheld the Tribunal's decision to remand the matter to the adjudicating officer for consideration of whether amendment of the Bill of Entry is permissible u/s 149 of the Act. The Court emphasized that once the amendment is allowed, the issue of rectification of the order u/s 154 can be examined, finding no error in the Tribunal's decision. The Court distinguished a Supreme Court case where re-opening and claiming refund were not allowed, noting that the present case involves a different scenario with a lower amount at stake. The Court acknowledged the possibility of Revenue suffering due to clerical errors and arithmetic mistakes. Ultimately, the Court dismissed the application for condonation of delay and the appeal.
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