Case Law Details
Sujag Fine Chemicals Pvt Ltd Vs C.E. & S.T. Vadodara (CESTAT Ahmedabad)
Introduction: The case of Sujag Fine Chemicals Pvt Ltd Vs C.E. & S.T. Vadodara involves a demand for customs duty by the revenue department based on a declared evaporation loss in the distillation process. The appellant, Sujag Fine Chemicals Pvt Ltd, a 100% Export Oriented Unit (EOU), contested this demand, citing that the revenue department had previously acknowledged and accepted the declared approximate evaporation loss of 5%.
Analysis: The appeal hinged on the matter of the extended period of limitation invoked by the revenue department. The department demanded customs duty based on a declared evaporation loss, despite having accepted the estimated 5% loss during the distillation process in their previous permissions. The tribunal acknowledged that the revenue department cannot retroactively question the evaporation loss that they had accepted earlier.
The CESTAT, in agreement with the appellant’s argument, stated that the revenue department was aware of the estimated loss and had granted permissions year after year based on this approximation. Therefore, the tribunal found the invocation of an extended period of limitation by the revenue department untenable.
FULL TEXT OF THE CESTAT AHMEDABAD ORDER
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