High Court quashes Customs order, directs interest recalculated per circular. Fair hearing emphasized.

The High Court quashed the Superintendent of Central Excise and Customs' order and directed the Commissioner to requantify the interest amount in accordance with the Board's circular mentioned in the CEGAT order. The Court emphasized the need for the Commissioner to provide the petitioner with a fair hearing during the process and to promptly implement the CEGAT order. The petition was allowed without costs.

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Issues: Requantification of interest amount by Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs based on CEGAT order and Board's circular.

Analysis:
1. Issue of Requantification Procedure: The petitioner argued that the Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs should have requantified the interest amount as per the Board's circular mentioned in the CEGAT order. The petitioner contended that the Superintendent of Central Excise and Customs had requantified the amount without considering the circular or hearing the petitioners.

2. Counter-Argument by Respondent: The Senior Central Government Standing Counsel representing the respondents contended that any officer, not necessarily the Commissioner who passed the original order, could requantify the interest amount. The respondent argued that the requantification done by the Superintendent of Central Excise and Customs was appropriate and justified.

3. Judicial Analysis: Upon reviewing the CEGAT order, the High Court observed that the matter was remitted for requantification in line with the Board's circular. The Court opined that the Officer responsible for the original order should have been the one to requantify the interest amount based on the circular referred to by CEGAT.

4. Court's Decision: Considering the circumstances, the High Court quashed the order of the Superintendent of Central Excise and Customs and directed the Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs to requantify the interest amount, taking into account the Board's circular mentioned in the CEGAT order. The Court emphasized that the Commissioner should provide the petitioner with an opportunity to be heard during the process to ensure fairness. The Court expected prompt action from the Commissioner to implement the CEGAT order efficiently.

5. Final Disposition: The High Court allowed the petition, making the rule absolute to the extent of directing the Commissioner to requantify the interest amount appropriately. No costs were awarded in this matter.

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