Refund of provisional anti-dumping duty is mandatory when the provisional levy is withdrawn by rescinding notification.

Rule 21(3) of the Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles) Rules, 1995 mandates refund of provisional anti-dumping duty already collected when the provisional levy is withdrawn under Rule 18(4). On rescission of the notification withdrawing the provisional duty, the earlier collection could not be retained, and the language relied on by the lower authorities did not justify denial of refund. The refund claim was therefore admissible, and rejection of the claim was unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether provisional anti-dumping duty already collected was refundable after the rescinding notification withdrew the provisional levy.

Analysis: Rule 21(3) of the Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles) Rules, 1995 provides that when provisional duty imposed under the rules is withdrawn in accordance with Rule 18(4), the duty already imposed and collected shall be refunded to the importer. The rescinding notification had withdrawn the provisional levy, and the words relied upon by the lower authorities did not justify denying refund. The consistent treatment of the same issue by the departmental authorities elsewhere also supported the assessee's claim, and the rule was read as clear and unambiguous.

Conclusion: The refund of provisional anti-dumping duty was admissible and the rejection of the refund claim was unsustainable; the appeal was allowed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where provisional anti-dumping duty is withdrawn by rescission of the notification, Rule 21(3) mandates refund of the duty already collected.

---