2002 (11) TMI 188 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues involved:
Appeal against denial of refund of excise duty based on post-sale price reduction.

Summary:

Issue 1: Claim for refund of excise duty on reduced price
The appellant appealed against the Commissioner (Appeals) order rejecting its claim for refund of Rs. 2,08,695, contending that they paid excise duty on a higher amount than the price received from DOT. The Departmental Representative argued that duty is not payable on reduced price post-clearance. However, the agreement between the parties allowed for price fluctuation, specifically stating that any reduction in price beyond the original scheduled delivery date would be passed on to the purchaser.

Issue 2: Entitlement to refund and provisional assessment
The Tribunal disagreed with the Revenue's stance that the assessee's refund application should be denied for not seeking provisional assessment. It clarified that the lack of provisional assessment does not negate the right to claim refund under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act. Therefore, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and allowed the appeal for refund of excise duty based on the agreed reduced price.

This judgment highlights the importance of contractual terms in determining excise duty liabilities and the entitlement to refunds, emphasizing that post-sale price reductions agreed upon by parties must be considered in duty calculations, irrespective of provisional assessment requests.