Commissioner of Customs Vs Hadeed Steels Pvt Ltd (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court held that the import duty paid is liable to be refunded since the goods were never cleared for home consumption but were re-exported. Thus, customs department cannot retain the amount for the goods which were never cleared for home consumption.
Facts- The respondent assessee had filed a Bill of Entry dated 26.10.2010 for clearance of 84 metric tons of light melting scrap. The assessee also paid import duty of Rs.2,28,027/- without waiting for the ‘out of customs charge’ endorsement on the Bill of Entry filed by him. When the goods arrived at the port, an inspection by the customs authorities revealed that the consignment contained in all four containers was hazardous waste materials which were prohibited for import under the Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Trans boundary Movement) Rules, 2008. The customs authorities therefore found that it was a case of misdeclaration of the hazardous waste that was imported, as light melting scrap.
Post re-export of the said consignments, the importer filed a refund application claiming refund of Rs.2,28,027/-. However, the refund application of the importer was rejected by the original authority as also the First Appellate Authority. Tribunal allowed the appeal and directed refund of the amount together with interest. Being aggrieved, revenue has preferred the present appeal.
