MSG Enterprises Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Delhi)
provisions of Section 27 A, which provides that, “ where a refund is not granted within three months from the date of receipt of the application, that shall be paid to the applicant with interest at such rate, as notified, on such duty, from the date immediately after the expiry of three months, from the date of receipt of such application, till the date of refund of such duty. Thus, the statute provides for mandatory payment of interest, and there is no discretionary power with the Revenue Authority in the matter of interest. Accordingly, he prays for grant of interest, as per Statute.
CESTAT find that the ld. Commissioner (Appeals) has mis-conceived the issue of interest by rejecting the same by referring to the provisions of Section 128 of the Customs Act. CESTAT hold that the appellant is entitled to interest from the end of three months from the date of refund application before the Adjudicating Authority, till the date of grant of refund in cash. CESTAT further direct the Adjudicating Authority to disburse the interest within a period of 45 days from the date of receipt/service of copy of this order.
FULL TEXT OF THE CESTAT DELHI ORDER
Heard the parties.
2. The issue involved in these appeal is whether the Commissioner (Appeals) has rightly rejected the claim of interest, on the grant of belated refunds, by referring to the limitation under Section 128 of the Customs Act.
3. The appellant is an importer, who imported fabrics. At the time of import, the goods were assessed at a higher value than the declared value by the proper officer. Although the appellant did not agree with the enhancement, however, they paid the duty for taking clearance and filed appeal before the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals). On being successful in the appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals), the appellant applied for refund of the excess duty paid. The details are reflected in the table below:-
