2016 (4) TMI 50 - AT - Customs

Period of limitation - Refund claim filed in terms of Notification No. 102/2007-Cus, dated 02.07.2010 within one year at ICD Dadri instead of CFS Mulund - Customs authority of ICD Dadri forwarded refund application to CFS Mulund but was rejected being time bared on the ground that at the time of receipt of refund application from ICD Dadri to CFS Mulund, the prescribed time limit was expired - Held that - by following the ratio of order passed by the Tribunal in appellant s own case reported in 2015 (4) TMI 937 - CESTAT MUMBAI based on the judgment of Hon ble High Court of Gujarat in the case of Commissioner of Central Excise Vs. AIA Engineering Ltd. 2010 (9) TMI 555 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT , if the refund claim for the first time filed within time before different authority it cannot be said that the filing of refund is time barred. - Decided in favour of appellant

Summary

Issues:
Refund claim filed at the wrong location - rejection on the grounds of being time-barred.

Analysis:
The appeal challenged the Order-in-Appeal passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) Mumbai-I regarding a refund claim filed at ICD Dadri instead of CFS Mulund. The Customs authority forwarded the claim to the wrong location, leading to rejection based on being time-barred as the prescribed time limit had expired upon receipt at the correct location.

The appellant's counsel cited a previous Tribunal order in the appellant's own case, where a similar issue was addressed. The Tribunal, following a judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat, ruled that filing a refund claim within the time limit before a different authority does not render it time-barred.

On the contrary, the Assistant Commissioner representing the Revenue reiterated the findings of the impugned order, emphasizing the rejection based on the expired time limit.

After considering both sides' arguments, the Member (J) referred to the earlier Tribunal order in the appellant's case, which highlighted a similar scenario. The previous order discussed the requirement of filing claims with the jurisdictional customs officer and cited a judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat regarding the period of limitation and the competency of the authority to sanction refund claims. The High Court held that filing the original application for refund within the time limit, albeit before the wrong authority, did not render the application time-barred.

Based on the similarity of facts and issues with the previous order and the High Court judgment, the Member (J) set aside the impugned order and allowed the appeal with any consequential relief, in line with the law.