2012 (11) TMI 569 - AT - Customs

Refund claim payment of excess duty - duty had been assessed for three packages against prior Bill of Entry and duty deposited in advance, but they received only two packages out of a lot of three packages Held that - In this case the goods were cleared after the examination as per Section 17 of the said Act and at the time of examination the short landing of the goods had been noticed. Therefore, at the material time itself, the assessment shows that duty payable is Rs. 21,972/- as against the duty deposited of Rs. 45, 982/- and, accordingly, the excess duty paid became refundable

Summary

Issues: Refund claim rejection based on failure to seek reassessment of Bill of Entry; Interpretation of Customs Act provisions regarding assessment and refund of excess duty; Dispute over the need for re-assessment before allowing refund; Lack of challenge to Bill of Entry by the importer.

Analysis:
1. Refund Claim Rejection: The case involves a refund claim filed by the respondents against a Bill of Entry where they paid excess duty due to the clearance of fewer packages than assessed. The claim was rejected by the AC Refund for not seeking reassessment of the relevant Bill of Entry, citing judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

2. Interpretation of Customs Act Provisions: The respondents contended that filing a Bill of Entry before the delivery of import manifest and payment of duty does not constitute assessment under the Customs Act. Assessment under Section 47 is done before clearance for home consumption, and in this case, only two out of three packages were cleared, indicating assessment only for those two packages.

3. Commissioner's Decision: The Commissioner (Appeals) accepted the importer's argument, stating that the assessment was complete at the time of clearance when the duty payable was determined to be less than deposited. The Commissioner emphasized that no further reassessment was necessary as the excess duty was refundable at the initial assessment stage itself.

4. Need for Re-assessment: The Revenue contended that the importer did not challenge the Bill of Entry, but the Tribunal found no merit in this argument. The Tribunal noted that the dispute was merely about the arithmetical calculation of duty payment, not a legal challenge, and the lack of challenge to the Bill of Entry did not affect the refund claim's validity.

5. Final Decision: The Tribunal rejected the Revenue's appeal, emphasizing that the absence of a legal dispute between the parties regarding the Bill of Entry did not invalidate the refund claim. The Tribunal upheld the Commissioner's decision, stating that the excess duty was refundable at the initial assessment stage, and no further reassessment was required.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the refund claim, emphasizing that the assessment was complete at the time of clearance, and the excess duty was rightfully deemed refundable without the need for further reassessment. The lack of challenge to the Bill of Entry did not impact the validity of the refund claim, as the dispute centered on the arithmetical calculation of duty payment.