2017 (5) TMI 859 - AT - Customs

Rectification of mistake - the date of final assessment was wrongly mentioned as 01/06/2009, whereas the bills of entry relevant to the claims were only finally assessed in December, 2009. The final assessment of the said bills of entry were in terms of order dated 16/07/2009 - Held that - the date of final assessment was not presented correctly during the course of argument and also in the appeal papers. Upon verification, it is seen that the date of final assessment should be the date of assessment of bills of entry finally. The relevant date should be reckoned from such date. Accordingly, while the legal principles as held in the final order are correct, the error in dates are to be corrected and consequential benefit, if any, are to be granted to the appellant - ROM application allowed.

Summary

Issues: Rectification of mistakes in final order regarding date of final assessment for refund claims.

In this case, the appellant filed two applications for rectification of mistakes apparent on record in the final order dated 28/07/2016. The appellant argued that the Tribunal incorrectly mentioned the date of final assessment as 01/06/2009, while the bills of entry relevant to the claims were actually finally assessed in December 2009. The appellant pointed out that the final assessments were made on 19/12/2009 as per the bills of entry, contrary to what was stated in the final order. The appellant requested rectification of these errors based on the correct assessment dates. The authorized representative for the respondent acknowledged discrepancies in the dates mentioned in the appeal papers and the actual finalization dates of the bills of entry. After hearing both sides and examining the appeal records, the Tribunal found that while the legal principles applied in the final order were correct based on precedents set by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court, there were errors in the dates mentioned. The Tribunal concluded that the entitlement of the appellants for refund should be determined based on the date of finalization of provisional assessment as recorded in the bills of entry. Therefore, the final order was corrected to reflect the correct assessment dates, and the appeals were disposed of by setting aside the impugned orders and directing the Original Authority to reexamine the issue in light of the corrected observations.

In summary, the main issue in this judgment revolved around rectifying mistakes in the final order regarding the date of final assessment for refund claims. The Tribunal acknowledged discrepancies in the dates mentioned in the final order and the actual assessment dates of the bills of entry. Despite the correct legal principles being applied, the errors in the dates were rectified to ensure the appellant's entitlement for refund was determined accurately based on the correct finalization dates of the bills of entry.