Sesa Sterlite Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Hyderabad)
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, dismissed an appeal challenging the rejection of an excise duty refund on the ground of unjust enrichment. The refund of ₹12,10,234 had originally been sanctioned following reassessment of a shipping bill, which reduced the duty liability. However, the Department issued a show cause notice seeking recovery of the refund on the basis that the appellant had realized an amount higher than the declared Free on Board (FOB) value, thereby attracting the doctrine of unjust enrichment.
The appellant did not appear during multiple hearings, including the final hearing, and the Tribunal proceeded to decide the matter after hearing the departmental representative and examining the record. The core issue before the Tribunal was whether the refund claim was barred by unjust enrichment due to excess realization over the declared transaction value.
The Tribunal noted that the declared FOB value in the shipping bill was USD 2,168,780.25, whereas the Bank Realisation Certificate showed that the appellant had actually realized USD 2,276,803.41. This resulted in an excess realization equivalent to ₹46,12,589. The Tribunal observed that the appellant failed to provide any explanation for this differential amount and did not establish that the excess realization did not include the duty element for which the refund was claimed.
