2012 (10) TMI 189 - CGOVT - Central Excise

Government denies refund claim for export of PH 3 Slurry Pump Assembly due to procedural non-compliance.

The Central Government upheld the rejection of M/s. Coromandel Agrico Pvt. Ltd.'s refund claim for Central Excise duty on the export of PH 3 Slurry Pump ... Rejection of refund claim - Goods were exported under Bond –no confirmation of duty payment from the jurisdictional Central Excise range Superintendent in the form of duty payment certification in triplicate. Copy of ARE-1, so the duty paid nature of the export goods is also not proved, which is the fundamental requirement for claim rebate under Rule 18 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002. In view of above, the rebate claim is rightly held as inadmissible to the applicant Issues:Refund claim for Central Excise duty on export, Jurisdiction of filing rebate claim, Compliance with procedural requirements for rebate claim.Analysis:The case involves a revision application filed by M/s. Coromandel Agrico Pvt. Ltd. against the rejection of their refund claim for Central Excise duty on the export of PH 3 Slurry Pump Assembly. The applicant exported the goods under self-sealing procedure without paying duty or issuing an excise invoice. The Assistant Commissioner rejected the refund claim, stating it was not admissible under Rule 18 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002.Upon appeal, the Commissioner upheld the rejection, leading to the revision application before the Central Government. The applicant argued that they exported the goods on the direction of Range officers and filed the rebate claim with a bona fide belief, albeit before the wrong authority. They contended that the procedural lapse was unintentional and should not lead to claim rejection.The Government observed that the goods were procured from a supplier and exported under Bond, but the export did not comply with the procedural requirements. The goods were not exported directly from the factory or warehouse after duty payment, violating Notification No. 19/2004-C.E. (N.T.). The rebate claim was not filed with the specified authorities as required by the provisions. Additionally, the applicant failed to follow the prescribed procedure and provide necessary documents, such as duty payment certification and ARE-1 copy, essential for claiming rebate under Rule 18.Consequently, the Government upheld the rejection of the refund claim, stating that the procedural non-compliance rendered the claim inadmissible. The impugned Order-in-Appeal was found to be without infirmity, leading to the rejection of the revision application for being devoid of merit.