2007 (12) TMI 99 - AT - Central Excise

Defective goods received back, stored in office premises seized by dept. under belief that goods weren t cleared on payment of duty if the duty is paid subsequent to the clearance of the goods the plea of unjust enrichment cannot be raised - question of recovery of duty does not arise when the initial payment of duty is accepted and refund is not being claimed of the initial duty paid and duty is paid second time - unjust enrichment not applicable refund allowed

Summary

Issues involved:
1. Seizure of goods due to alleged non-payment of duty.
2. Denial of refund on the ground of unjust enrichment.
3. Interpretation of the principle of unjust enrichment in the context of subsequent duty payment.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Seizure of goods due to alleged non-payment of duty
The case involved the seizure of goods by the revenue authorities from the office premises of the appellants under the belief that duty was not paid. However, the appellants later produced documents proving that the goods were indeed cleared on payment of duty. Consequently, the revenue accepted this plea, leading to the setting aside of confiscation and penalty. The Tribunal noted that the initial payment of duty was accepted by the revenue, and the goods were wrongly seized despite being cleared on payment of duty. Therefore, the demand for duty, redemption fine, and penalty were all set aside. The Tribunal concluded that since the initial duty payment was accepted, the question of recovering duty a second time did not arise, and the seizure of goods was unjustified.

Issue 2: Denial of refund on the ground of unjust enrichment
The appellants claimed a refund of the duty paid a second time after the goods were seized, arguing that the duty was not recovered from their customers subsequently. However, the refund was denied on the basis that the appellants failed to provide evidence that the duty was not recovered from the customers. The revenue authorities transferred the refund to the welfare fund, citing unjust enrichment. The Tribunal observed that the plea of unjust enrichment cannot be sustained when the initial duty payment is accepted, and the refund is not being claimed for the initial duty paid. Therefore, the denial of the refund on the grounds of unjust enrichment was deemed inappropriate in this case.

Issue 3: Interpretation of the principle of unjust enrichment
The appellants contended that the principle of unjust enrichment should not apply when duty is paid subsequent to the clearance of goods, unless there is proof that the duty was subsequently recovered. The Tribunal agreed with this argument, emphasizing that in the present case, the duty was paid at the time of clearance, and the subsequent seizure of goods led to a second duty payment. Since the revenue had acknowledged the initial duty payment, the plea of unjust enrichment was deemed invalid. The Tribunal set aside the Commissioner (Appe'als)'s order and allowed the appeal, providing consequential relief to the appellants.