2020 (2) TMI 289 - AT - Customs

Refund claim - duty paying invoices - rejection of refunds on the ground that the refund claim was not based on the supporting documents and that the refund was sanctioned without verification of the supporting documents in respect of 24 Bills-of-Entry - HELD THAT - It is clear that the Adjudicating Authority has sanctioned the refund after going through the original documents placed on record, a copy of which was also filed before the First Appellate Authority. The Revenue having not been able to locate the original documents, is apparently seeking indulgence at the cost of the taxpayer, which cannot be appreciated. The First Appellate Authority has not suspected the arguments of the assessee as regards filing of necessary documents before the Adjudicating Authority, the acknowledged copy of the letter of which was also duly verified by him and the Revenue has not been able to disprove the above factual findings. Appeal dismissed - decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues: Revenue's appeal against refund claim based on supporting documents

In this judgment, the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT CHENNAI heard an appeal filed by the Revenue against the Order-in-Appeal C.Cus. No. 1006/2013 dated 16.07.2013. The Revenue contended that the refund claim was not supported by the necessary documents and that the refund was granted without proper verification of the supporting documents for 24 Bills-of-Entry mentioned in the claim dated 04.05.2011. The Revenue's Authorized Representative argued for the appeal, while the Advocate for the respondent supported the First Appellate Authority's decision. The Advocate highlighted that the refund was sanctioned after thorough verification of documents by the Adjudicating Authority as mentioned in the Order-in-Original No. 18442/2012. The Tribunal noted that the Adjudicating Authority had indeed verified the original documents before granting the refund, and the Revenue's failure to locate these documents was not a sufficient reason to challenge the refund claim. The Tribunal found the Revenue's appeal to be lacking in merit and frivolous, ultimately dismissing it. The judgment emphasized that the First Appellate Authority had accepted the respondent's submission regarding the submission of necessary documents, and the Revenue failed to disprove this fact. Consequently, the Tribunal upheld the decision to dismiss the Revenue's appeal, emphasizing the importance of proper documentation and verification in refund claims.