2014 (11) TMI 233 - AT - Customs

Valuation of goods - Refund claim of excess claim of duty - Held that - Enhancement of value at the time of import of the goods by the Customs authorities, stand set aside by the Tribunal. On success of their appeal, the appellant is entitled to the consequential relief on the same, otherwise the entire litigation done by the appellant would loose importance. The said consequence of allowing the appeal is that whatever higher duty the appellant has paid at the time of clearance of goods, should be refunded to them. Where the assessee has produced chartered accountant certificate, the invoice showing the stamp of non-passing of duty to the customers and profit and loss account showing the said duty is recoverable from the Revenue, the denial of same on hyper technical point of non-production of original invoice is neither justified nor fair - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues: Valuation dispute, unjust enrichment, acceptance of Chartered Accountant certificate

The judgment revolves around a valuation dispute concerning imported lighting fixtures. The appellant cleared the goods by paying a higher duty amount of Rs. 3,12,418, as per the enhanced valuation by Customs authorities. The appellant challenged the enhancement order before higher authorities and the Tribunal, which allowed the appeal with consequential relief. However, the refund claim for the excess duty amount was rejected based on the doctrine of unjust enrichment.

The appellant, in support of their claim, stamped their invoices indicating that the extra customs duty paid was not recovered from the buyers. Although only photocopies of the invoices were produced, as the originals were claimed to be lost, Chartered Accountant certificates were submitted certifying that the extra duty was not passed on to the buyers. Additionally, the balance sheet reflected the extra duty as recoverable from the Revenue.

The Tribunal highlighted the importance of Chartered Accountant certificates in such cases, citing precedents like the decision in Corning S.A. v. CCE, New Delhi and the judgment of the Hon'ble Madras High Court in CCE, Coimbatore v. Flow Tech Power. These cases emphasized the evidentiary value of Chartered Accountant certificates and profit and loss accounts confirming that duty paid by the assessee was absorbed by them.

Applying the principles from the aforementioned decisions to the present case, the Tribunal found that since the valuation enhancement was set aside, the appellant was entitled to the consequential relief of a refund for the higher duty paid. The Tribunal deemed the denial of the claim based on the non-production of the original invoice as unjust and unfair, especially when supported by Chartered Accountant certificates and other relevant financial documents. Consequently, the impugned order was set aside, and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief in favor of the appellant.