Refund of Special Additional Duty allowed where documents showed compliance with VAT or Sales Tax condition under the notification.

Refund of Special Additional Duty under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. is available where the documentary record shows compliance with the notification conditions, including payment of the appropriate Sales Tax or VAT on the subsequent sale of imported goods. The authority relied on import documents, invoices, VAT challan, chartered accountant's certificate, balance sheet, and other supporting records to find that the prescribed conditions were satisfied. On that factual and documentary basis, the refund claim was sanctioned, and the record disclosed no infirmity in that appreciation. The stated principle is that refund cannot be denied on a mere technical objection when compliance with the notification is otherwise established.

---

---

Issues: Whether the respondent was entitled to refund of Special Additional Duty under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. on compliance with the condition of payment of appropriate Sales Tax or Value Added Tax on the sale of the imported goods.

Analysis: The refund claim was supported by the documents examined by the Assistant Commissioner, including the relevant import documents, invoices, VAT challan, chartered accountant certificate, balance sheet, and other supporting records. On that material, the authority found that the conditions of the notification stood satisfied and sanctioned the refund. The appellate record did not show any infirmity in that factual and documentary appreciation.

Conclusion: The condition in Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. was held to have been complied with, and the refund claim was fully allowed in favour of the respondent.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the documentary record establishes compliance with the conditions of the refund notification, including payment of VAT/Sales Tax on subsequent sale, the refund cannot be denied merely on a technical objection.

---