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2023 (12) TMI 387 - AT - CustomsDebar from filing Bill of Entry manually as per Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962 - cash refund - entitlement of DEPB Scrip - violation of principles of natural justice - HELD THAT - The facts, which are not in dispute, are that the appellant was disallowed to file the Bill of Entry manually in terms of Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962, which is the violation of principles of natural justice. The said act of the Adjudicating Authority debarred the appellant to avail the benefit of DEPB Scrip. In that circumstances, as the appellant is not able to take the benefit of DEPB Scrip, they are entitled to cash refund in terms of the order of this Tribunal in the case of COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS EXCISE, PARPARGANJ VERSUS M/S ARTEX TEXTILE PRIVATE LIMITED 2020 (3) TMI 166 - CESTAT NEW DELHI , wherein this Tribunal has observed payment of duty by debiting the DEPB scrips is actually payment of duty as it is a valid mode of payment. Therefore, Artex Textile paid duty at the time of importation. It is entitled to refund of the duty and the Department cannot be permitted to pay it by a mode which is not in existence today. In any case, it should not matter to the Department by which mode the payment is made, once it is found as a fact that Artex Textile is entitled to refund of duty paid by Artex Textile. The appellant is entitled for cash refund as per entitlement of DEPB Scrip - Appeal allowed.
Issues:
The appellant was debarred from filing Bill of Entry manually as per Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962. Facts: The appellant, a manufacturer of steel products, exported iron ore pellets in October 2010 and applied for a DEPB scrip for duty credit. The DEPB license was issued physically and registered by the Customs House. However, issues arose when trying to utilize the duty credit scrip for imports at Kolkata, leading to the inability to link the DEPB scrips to the Customs Portal due to manual filing of shipping bills. Despite efforts to resolve the situation, the appellant's requests were rejected, resulting in the inability to utilize the genuine DEPB scrip. Submissions: The appellant argued that manual filing of Bill of Entry should not have been denied, as they were entitled to file manually and utilize the DEPB Scrip for duty payment. Due to the denial, the appellant could not use the DEPB Scrip, leading to a request for cash refund based on previous Tribunal decisions. Decision: The Tribunal found that the appellant being disallowed to file the Bill of Entry manually violated principles of natural justice and deprived them of the benefit of the DEPB Scrip. Citing previous cases, the Tribunal held that the appellant is entitled to cash refund as per the entitlement of the DEPB Scrip. The appeal was allowed with consequential relief granted. Judicial Pronouncements: The Tribunal referenced previous cases where it was established that refund claims cannot be denied solely on the ground of no provision under the law, and that once benefits are surrendered, the refund of the excess amount must be paid. Based on these precedents, the appellant was granted the cash refund as per the entitlement of the DEPB Scrip.
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