2016 (8) TMI 798 - AT - Customs

Denial of refund of additional duty of customs (SAD) - no declaration of refund on original copies - no enquiry conducted at the buyer s end to prove that the invoices issued to them depicted any levy of additional duty of customs - Held that - Tribunal would have come to rescue of the Revenue had there been any enquiry conducted to show that the burden of the additional duty of customs was passed on to the buyer. There is no such instance that has come to record. The invoices produced exhibited that there was only levy of VAT on the goods sold by appellant. No additional duty of customs was charged. Also, an endorsement on original document may not be necessary since the invoice do not carry the duty element - appeal remanded to original authority to examine the reasons of stamping the duplicate bills and pass appropriate order.

Summary

Issues: Refund of additional duty of customs denied based on stamping of duplicate copies of invoices without declaration.

The judgment addresses the issue of denial of refund of additional duty of customs to the appellant by the learned Commissioner (Appeals) due to suspicions regarding the stamping of duplicate copies of invoices without the required declaration. The appellant argued that no enquiry was conducted at the buyer's end to prove the levy of additional duty of customs, and thus, refund should be granted. On the other hand, the Revenue contended that the modus operandi followed by the appellant was not acceptable under the law for granting a refund and called for an appropriate enquiry before considering the refund application. The Tribunal, after hearing both sides and examining the records, noted that there was no evidence to show that the burden of additional duty of customs was passed on to the buyer. The invoices produced during the hearing only showed the levy of VAT and not additional duty of customs.

The judgment refers to a previous decision by the Larger Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Chowgule & Company Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Customs, where it was held that the non-declaration of duty in the invoice itself implies that no credit would be available. Therefore, the non-declaration or non-specification of the duty element in the invoice satisfies the conditions prescribed under the relevant notification. Consequently, the Tribunal remanded the appeal to the original authority for further examination of the reasons behind stamping the duplicate bills and to pass an appropriate order.