Appellate Tribunal grants refund of Special Additional Duty, citing absence of credit availed for imported goods.

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT CHENNAI allowed the appeals, overturning the rejection of a refund of Special Additional Duty (SAD) due to the absence of an endorsement in the invoices confirming no credit availed for imported goods. Relying on previous decisions, the Tribunal set aside the lower authorities' decisions and granted the appeals, providing consequential relief as per the law. The judgment was delivered by the Bench comprising Ms. Sulekha Beevi C.S. (Member Judicial) and Shri Madhu Mohan Damodhar (Member Technical).

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Issues: Rejection of refund of SAD due to lack of endorsement in invoices regarding availed credit.

Analysis:
The judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT CHENNAI pertains to the rejection of a refund of Special Additional Duty (SAD) based on the absence of an endorsement in the invoices confirming that no credit was availed for the imported goods. The original authority had denied the refund citing non-compliance with para 2(b) of Notification No.102/2007-Cus. dated 14.09.2007. The lower appellate authority upheld this decision, leading to the filing of appeals.

During the hearing, the appellant's advocate, Shri M. Karthikeyan, argued that the issue had been settled by various decisions, notably the Tribunal's Larger Bench ruling in the case of Chowgule & Company Pvt. Ltd. Vs CC & CE - 2014 (306) ELT 326 (Tri.-LB), which was subsequently followed in other cases. Conversely, the Learned Additional Commissioner supported the impugned order.

Upon review, the Tribunal observed that the issue had already been conclusively addressed by the decisions referenced by the appellant's counsel. In line with the principles established in those cases, the Tribunal set aside the impugned orders and allowed the appeals, granting any consequential relief as per the law. The judgment was dictated and pronounced in court by the Bench comprising Ms. Sulekha Beevi C.S. (Member Judicial) and Shri Madhu Mohan Damodhar (Member Technical).

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