Refund claim maintainable despite no appeal against assessment where exemption was not claimed and no lis existed at assessment stage.

Where an importer did not claim exemption under Notification No. 12/2012-Cus at the time of self-assessment and the Bills of Entry were assessed without dispute, a later refund claim is not barred merely because the assessment was not separately challenged. The relevant principle was that the refund arose from non-claim of an available exemption, not from a contested adverse assessment, and there was no lis at the assessment stage. On that basis, the objection based solely on failure to appeal the assessed Bills of Entry could not defeat maintainability of the refund claim, and the claim was held maintainable.

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Issues: Whether a refund claim is barred merely because the assessed Bill of Entry was not challenged, where the importer had not claimed exemption under the relevant customs notification and there was no lis at the stage of assessment.

Analysis: The importer did not claim the benefit of Notification No. 12/2012-Cus dated 17.03.2012 in the Bills of Entry, and the goods were assessed without considering that exemption. The refund claim arose only after clearance of the goods. In such circumstances, the dispute was not one of challenging an adverse assessment made after contest, but of seeking refund of duty paid despite non-claim of the available exemption. The situation was treated as one where there was no lis between the parties at the assessment stage, and the objection based only on failure to appeal the assessment could not defeat the refund claim.

Conclusion: The bar against refund for non-challenge to the assessment order did not apply, and the refund claim was maintainable. The decision was in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where exemption was not claimed at the time of self-assessment and there was no lis on assessment, a refund claim is not barred merely because the assessed Bill of Entry was not separately appealed.

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