2018 (1) TMI 1138 - AT - Customs

Maintainability of appeal - validity of assessment order - case of Revenue is that the appellant cannot be said to have grievance over the assessment order that was passed on the inputs furnished by him - Held that - the assessed Bill of Entry is definitely an assessment order which can be appealed against to the Commissioner (Appeals). However, for justifying such an appeal, there should be grievance caused to the importer by way of assessment done in the Bill of Entry. It is not forthcoming whether at the stage of filing the Bill of Entry, the appellant had declared the miscellaneous charges as EUR 6748.34 or whether the same had been added by the assessing officer. The appellant has also not filed the copy of the check list, filed along with the Bill of Entry to ascertain this aspect. Matter remanded for reexamination of the issue - appeal disposed off by way of remand.

Summary

Issues: Appeal against assessment order based on higher freight amount; Maintainability of appeal before Commissioner (Appeals) under Section 128 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis:
1. The appellant filed an appeal against the assessment order of Bill of Entry No. 790870 dated 20.02.2009, contending that the goods were assessed based on a higher freight amount adopted by the department. The appeal was rejected on the grounds that the appellant had no grievance over the assessment order. The appellant appealed to the forum challenging the rejection.

2. During the hearing, the appellant's advocate argued that Bills of Entry are appealable under Section 128 of the Customs Act, 1962, citing various tribunal decisions. The appellant declared the freight as EUR 3900, but the department added miscellaneous charges of EUR 6748.34 based on the Airway Bill. The appellant claimed that only 20% of the FOB value should be considered for freight as per Customs Valuation Rules, justifying their appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals).

3. The department contended that it was unclear whether the appellant declared the miscellaneous charges themselves. The department accepted the declared values in the Bill of Entry, and without proof of protest or re-assessment application, the rejection of the appeal by the Commissioner (Appeals) was justified.

4. The Tribunal analyzed Section 128 of the Customs Act, 1962, which allows appeals against decisions by Customs officers. While Bills of Entry are appealable, the importer must be genuinely aggrieved by the assessment. The Tribunal noted the lack of clarity regarding the declaration of miscellaneous charges and directed a remand to the Commissioner (Appeals) to verify if the assessment was based on the higher freight amount claimed by the appellant.

5. The Tribunal emphasized the need for a genuine grievance against the assessment for an appeal to be valid. The case was disposed of by way of remand for further investigation by the Commissioner (Appeals) to determine the validity of the appellant's grievance regarding the assessment based on the higher freight amount.