Excess or Short Payment of Customs Duty? Here's What You Must Know!

Importers often get caught up with Customs Duty—either paying too much 💸 or too little.
The good news? 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀! ✅

A. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝘆? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗼:

1️⃣ 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 1: 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿 (𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀)
🔗 You can file an appeal within 60 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 under Section 128 of the Customs Act. 📜
🔗 If successful, you could be eligible for a 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 of the excess duty paid. 💰

2️⃣ 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 2: 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 149
🔗 Missed the deadline? No worries! Apply for an 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 under Section 149. 🗂️
If approved, the authorities may reassess the duty and issue a 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱. 🤑

B. 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝘆? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝘅:

🔗Pay the difference in 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝘆 & 𝗜𝗚𝗦𝗧 using a 𝗧𝗥-6 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻. 💵You can also claim 𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 for the IGST paid under Section 16(2)(a). 🎯

📆 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁? Typically, GST credit should be claimed by 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 of the next financial year or before the 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻, whichever comes first. 📊
However, for 𝗧𝗥-6 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀, there’s 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲! ✅

📌 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝘀 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 to choose?

It’s well-established in law that importers can choose between:
1️⃣ Seeking an 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 under Section 149 or
2️⃣ Filing an 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 under Section 128 of the Act.

This was clearly stated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in ITC LIMITED VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, KOLKATA -IV - 2019 (9) TMI 802 - SUPREME COURT (LB)

The same was reaffirmed by the Telangana High Court in M/S. SONY INDIA PVT. LTD. VERSUS UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER - 2021 (8) TMI 622 - TELANGANA HIGH COURT and later upheld by the Supreme Court in UNION OF INDIA & ANR. VERSUS M/S SONY INDIA PVT. LTD. - 2023 (4) TMI 1086 - SC ORDER ⚖️

💡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆?
Importers don’t have to suffer in case of excess or short payment of Customs Duty. There are legal ways to fix it.