2010 (12) TMI 594 - HC - Central Excise

Rule 18 of the Rules pertains to rebate of duty - Notification No. 19/2004-C.E. (N.T.) dated 6-9-2004 - During the period from 15-8-2004 to 8-9-2004 the petitioner-Company had exported cold roll stainless steel circles on four different occasions and had made payment of Central Excise duty on the said goods amounting to Rs. 6, 33, 818/- for which on 18-8-2006 the petitioner Company filed rebate claims of duty paid on goods exported - the only circumstance under which a claimant would be entitled to prefer a claim beyond the statutorily prescribed period of limitation would be where the lapse as to non-availability of requisite document is on account of Central Excise Department or Customs Department - The petitioner remained totally passive and it was not till the documents were returned by the authorities concerned after the matter was settled before the Settlement Commission that the petitioner filed the rebate claim - The petition accordingly stands dismissed with no order as to costs

Issues Involved:
1. Validity of the impugned order passed by the Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Finance.
2. Entitlement of the petitioner-Company to file rebate claims beyond the statutory period of limitation due to seizure of documents by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Validity of the Impugned Order:
The petitioner-Company challenged the order dated 18-5-2010 passed by the Revisional Authority, which set aside the Order-in-Appeal No. 77/2007 dated 1-8-2007. The petitioner argued that the Revisional Authority's order was illegal, erroneous, and suffered from non-application of mind. The petitioner contended that the Revisional Authority failed to appreciate that the delay in filing the rebate claims was due to the seizure of relevant documents by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. The Revisional Authority did not consider the judgments cited by the petitioner, including the case of Cosmonaut Chemicals v. Union of India, and issued a non-speaking order.

2. Entitlement to File Rebate Claims Beyond the Limitation Period:
The petitioner-Company exported cold roll stainless steel circles and filed rebate claims for the duty paid on the exported goods. However, the claims were filed beyond the statutory period of one year due to the seizure of documents by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. The petitioner argued that the period during which the documents were seized should be excluded from the limitation period, as upheld by the Commissioner (Appeals) in Order-in-Appeal No. 77/2007. The Revisional Authority, however, rejected this argument and held the claims as time-barred under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

The Court examined paragraph 2.4 of Chapter 9 of the Central Excise Manual, which allows the filing of claims without supporting documents if they are unavailable due to the Department's actions. The Court noted that the documents were seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, not the Central Excise or Customs Department. The petitioner had sufficient time to file the claims before the seizure and did not make any effort to secure the documents during the seizure period. The Court referred to the judgment in Cosmonaut Chemicals, which states that claims beyond the limitation period are permissible only if the non-availability of documents is due to the Central Excise or Customs Department.

Conclusion:
The Court concluded that the petitioner did not fall within the exception for filing claims beyond the statutory period, as the documents were seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, not the Central Excise or Customs Department. The petitioner also did not attempt to retrieve the documents during the seizure period. Therefore, the Court upheld the Revisional Authority's decision and dismissed the petition, stating that the claim for rebate was time-barred. The petition was dismissed with no order as to costs.

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