Famous Steel Vs Commissioner of Customs (CESTAT Ahmedabad)
Summary: CESTAT Ahmedabad partly allowed the appeal of Famous Steel concerning imports of cold rolled flat products of stainless steel under CTH 7219 from China. The Tribunal held that the department could issue a show cause notice under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 for recovery of anti-dumping duty and consequential IGST that had not been paid at the time of self-assessment, even though the self-assessment itself had not first been challenged in appeal. The Tribunal distinguished the Supreme Court decision in ITC Ltd., observing that ITC concerned refund proceedings under Section 27, whereas the present proceedings concerned recovery of duties not levied or paid under Section 28.
The Tribunal relied upon Union of India v. Jain Shudh Vanaspati Ltd. and Asia Motor Works for the proposition that there is no bar on issuance of a demand/show cause notice under Section 28 merely because the earlier assessment or clearance order has not separately been challenged. Famous Steel had imported stainless steel sheets from China in January and May 2019. The goods attracted anti-dumping duty at 57.39% under Notification No. 61/2015-Cus (ADD) dated 11.12.2015, but that duty had not been discharged during self-assessment.
