Clerical correction in duty challan permitted where payment was made under the wrong assessee code and no fresh payment was needed.
Where duty had already been paid and the challan reflected only a mistaken assessee code or factory registration number, the Bombay High Court held that administrative correction was justified instead of compelling a fresh payment and refund cycle. The court treated the error as a clerical mistake in payment particulars, with no change in the nature of the duty discharged, and found no legal basis to insist on duplication of payment. The respondents were directed to correct the registration details within the stipulated time, so the payment could be treated against the correct factory registration.
Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to correction of the registration number assessee code in the challan and consequential adjustment of duty paid under the wrong code, instead of being driven to pay again and seek refund.
Analysis: The petitioners had already cleared the goods and paid the duty, but by an inadvertent error the challan reflected the code of one factory instead of the other. The request was only for correction of the mistaken code in the payment record, without changing the nature of the duty payment or creating any precedent. The refusal to effect such correction and the insistence on a fresh payment followed by a refund application was found to be unjustified and without legal basis on the facts of the case.
Conclusion: The request for correction was allowed and the respondents were directed to make the correction within the stipulated time.
Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, and the duty payment was directed to be treated in accordance with the correct factory registration instead of requiring duplication of payment.
Ratio Decidendi: Where duty has already been paid and the only error is a mistaken assessee code or registration particulars in the challan, a court may direct administrative correction rather than compel a redundant fresh payment and refund cycle.
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