Interest on provisional customs assessments before 13-7-2006 treated as not leviable under the amended levy provision.

Interest under section 18(3) of the Customs Act was analysed as not applying to differential duty arising from finalisation of provisional assessments made before 13-7-2006. The provision was read with rule 7(4) of the Central Excise (No. 2) Rules, 2001 as pari materia, and Board clarification on the corresponding excise provision was treated as relevant guidance. Section 28AB was viewed only as a rate-fixing reference and not as creating a wider substantive levy. The article therefore states that interest was prima facie not leviable in such pre-commencement provisional assessments.

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Issues: Whether interest under section 18(3) of the Customs Act could be levied on duty arising from finalisation of a provisional assessment made before the provision came into force.

Analysis: The item imported required provisional assessment because its composition could be ascertained only by chemical analysis. The provisional assessments were made before 13-7-2006, while finalisation and payment of differential duty occurred later. Section 18(3) of the Customs Act and rule 7(4) of the Central Excise (No. 2) Rules, 2001 were treated as pari materia provisions, and the Board's clarification under the corresponding Central Excise provision was taken as governing guidance. On that basis, the provision for interest was viewed as inapplicable where the provisional assessment itself preceded the commencement date of section 18(3). Section 28AB was considered only as a rate-fixing reference and not as enlarging the substantive liability.

Conclusion: Interest was held to be prima facie not leviable on provisional assessments made before 13-7-2006, and the appellants were granted waiver of predeposit and stay of recovery.

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