Nico Extrusion Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Customs (ACC) (CESTAT Mumbai)
The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai, has disposed of an appeal filed by Nico Extrusion Ltd. against an order by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Mumbai-III. The Commissioner (Appeals) had remanded the matter back to the proper officer of Customs for passing a speaking order concerning the re-assessment of Bills of Entry (B/Es) filed by Nico Extrusion for imported Aluminium Scrap.
Nico Extrusion had self-assessed various B/Es under Section 17(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. However, the Customs authorities did not accept the declared invoice values and re-assessed the B/Es under Section 17(4) of the same Act, leading to an enhancement of the declared value. Nico Extrusion challenged this re-assessment before the Commissioner (Appeals), arguing that the proper officer had failed to issue a speaking order as mandated by Section 17(5) of the Customs Act.
The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld Nico Extrusion’s contention and remanded the case back to the proper officer to issue a speaking order in compliance with Section 17(5). Feeling aggrieved by this remand order, Nico Extrusion approached CESTAT.
After hearing both the appellant and the revenue, CESTAT observed that it was an admitted fact that the self-assessed B/Es were examined, and re-assessment for value enhancement was ordered. Crucially, the proper officer did not issue a speaking order during the re-assessment process, which is a mandatory requirement under Section 17(5) of the Customs Act.
CESTAT concurred with the Commissioner (Appeals)’ finding that the matter was rightly remanded for the issuance of a speaking order. Consequently, CESTAT found no merit in Nico Extrusion’s appeal against the remand order.
However, noting that the matter was already remanded, CESTAT directed the proper officer to complete the re-assessment proceedings, including the issuance of the speaking order as per Section 17(5) of the Customs Act, within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of the CESTAT order. This timeline aligns with the provisions of Section 17(5) of the Customs Act.
In conclusion, CESTAT disposed of the appeal, upholding the remand order by the Commissioner (Appeals) and setting a 15-day deadline for the proper officer to complete the re-assessment with a speaking order.
FULL TEXT OF THE CESTAT MUMBAI ORDER
