Refund under customs exemption failed where finally assessed Bills of Entry were not first reassessed.

Refund of customs duty under Notification No. 21/2002-Cus. was held to depend on the assessment record, because the Bills of Entry had been finally assessed under a different serial and no reassessment was sought. The claim for nil duty failed since the relevant certificates and documents were not produced at assessment, and the importer had already taken the benefit of the project-import serial. A refund application could not be used to indirectly challenge a final assessment; reassessment was required first. Authorities supporting refund despite payment were treated as factually inapplicable, and the rule against collateral challenge to assessment was applied.

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Issues: Whether refund of customs duty could be granted on the basis of Notification No. 21/2002-Cus. when the Bills of Entry had been finally assessed under a different serial number and no reassessment of the Bills of Entry was sought.

Analysis: The claim for nil duty under the relevant serial of Notification No. 21/2002-Cus. was not made at the time of assessment, and the requisite certificates or documents were not produced then. The appellant had itself obtained the benefit of the serial applicable to project import and the Bills of Entry were finally assessed on that basis. In such a situation, the refund claim was hit by the rule that a final assessment cannot be indirectly challenged through a refund application; reassessment was first required. The authorities relied upon to support refund despite payment were found inapplicable on the facts, while the principles barring refund without setting aside the assessment were held to apply.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not maintainable without reassessment of the finally assessed Bills of Entry, and the rejection of refund was .

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