1986 (4) TMI 211 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
1. Jurisdiction for refund claim - place of origin or place of destination.

Analysis:

The appeal before the Appellate Tribunal CEGAT, New Delhi involved a dispute regarding the jurisdiction for a refund claim made by M/s Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The Collector of Central Excise, Kanpur filed an appeal against the Order-in-Appeal passed by the Collector of Customs and Central Excise (Appeals), New Delhi. The facts of the case revolved around the receipt of tank wagons by IOC, initially booked to Kanpur but later found to be originally booked to Jalandhar. Duty was paid twice on the same goods, first at Kanpur and then at Jalandhar. The issue was whether the refund claim should be processed at the place of origin (Kanpur) or the place of destination (Jalandhar).

Shrimati Nisha Chaturvedi, representing the Department, argued that the duty was correctly paid by IOC at the time of clearance at Kanpur, and thus, the refund claim should be made at the place of despatch where the second duty payment was demanded. On the other hand, Shri K.L. Ahuja, representing IOC, contended that as per Rule 156B of the Central Excise Rules, the claim for refund should arise at Kanpur, where the goods were initially cleared and duty was paid.

Upon careful consideration of the submissions and the provisions of Rule 156B, the Tribunal observed that the duty was paid twice on the same goods due to a misunderstanding by IOC. The Tribunal noted that while there was no provision explicitly addressing this specific situation in the rules, the scheme of the procedure implied that the refund should be payable at the place where duty was collected under the mistaken impression for the second time, i.e., at the place of origin (Kanpur) in this case.

In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the appeal and directed that the respondent's claim for refund should be transferred to the place of origin (Kanpur) for processing. The judgment clarified the jurisdiction for refund claims in cases of double duty payment on goods and emphasized the importance of following the procedures outlined in the Central Excise Rules for such situations.