Provisional assessment refund entitlement under Customs law cannot be denied for absence of a separate Section 27 claim.

Where provisional assessment under the Customs Act is finally completed at a lower duty than was provisionally paid, the importer acquires a statutory right to refund of the excess. That entitlement cannot be denied merely because no separate refund application was filed under Section 27, since requiring a formal claim would undermine the scheme of finalisation under Section 18. The commentary also draws support from the analogous position under erstwhile Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, where excess duty found on finalisation was refundable to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether refund of extra duty deposit arising on finalisation of provisional assessment under the Customs Act could be denied for want of a formal refund claim under Section 27 of the Customs Act.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the effect of Section 18 of the Customs Act governing provisional assessment. Under that provision, where duty finally assessed is less than the duty paid provisionally, the importer becomes entitled to refund of the excess. The decision treated the statutory entitlement as sufficient basis for repayment and held that insistence on a separate refund application would defeat the scheme of finalisation of provisional assessment. The reasoning was supported by the analogous principle under erstwhile Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, under which excess duty found on finalisation is refundable to the assessee.

Conclusion: The refund of the extra duty deposit could not be refused on the ground that no formal claim under Section 27 was filed, and the assessee was entitled to refund on finalisation of assessment.

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