2007 (4) TMI 545 - AT - Central Excise

Appeal Granted: Re-exported Goods Eligible for Drawback Under Customs Act

The Tribunal allowed the appeal, granting relief to the appellant, as the re-exported goods were eligible for drawback under Section 74 of the Customs Act ... Cenvat/Modvat - Re-export Issues involved: Appeal against the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) upholding the original authority's decision to disallow Cenvat credit on imported inputs that were re-exported due to quality issues.Summary:The appellant availed Cenvat credit on inputs at the time of import, but some rejected inputs were re-exported to the supplier, involving a credit of Rs. 69,558. The original authority and Commissioner (Appeals) held that the credit was wrongly availed and imposed penalties under Rule 3(4).The appellant claimed benefit under Circular No. 283/117/96-CX and Circular F.No. 345/2/2000-TRU, citing the Tribunal's decision in C.C.E., Jaipur-I v. RFH Metal Castings (P) Ltd. The appellant argued that re-exported goods should qualify for drawback under Section 74 of the Customs Act.The Tribunal considered that the re-exported goods were eligible for drawback under Section 74, as the importer had to re-export due to unavoidable circumstances. The Circulars did not restrict benefits to domestically procured inputs, as clarified in para 8 of the Board's Circular dated 29-8-2000.Based on the above considerations and the precedent set by the Tribunal in RFH Metal Castings (P) Ltd., the appeal was allowed, granting consequential relief to the appellant.