SAD refund cannot be denied for minor description mismatch where imported goods were sold and VAT was paid.

Refund of Special Additional Duty under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. cannot be denied for a minor mismatch in the description of plastic granules between the Bills of Entry and sales invoices when the imported goods were in fact sold and VAT was paid. The refund scheme is meant to neutralise SAD incidence after subsequent sale, and technical discrepancies do not defeat the claim absent evidence that the goods were different or that the sale condition was not met. The generic description used in the invoices, and the absence of a local VAT requirement to mention grades, were treated as insufficient grounds to reject refund.

---

---

Issues: Whether refund of Special Additional Duty under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. could be denied merely because the description of plastic granules in the Bills of Entry and sales invoices did not match exactly.

Analysis: The refund scheme under the notification is intended to neutralize the incidence of SAD when imported goods are subsequently sold on payment of VAT. The only objection raised was the difference in description between the import documents and the sales invoices. The imported goods were admittedly sold and VAT was paid, and there was no evidence that the goods were not the same or that the sale requirement was not satisfied. Minor variations in description, particularly where the invoices used the generic description of plastic granules and the grades were not required to be stated under the local VAT law, were held insufficient to defeat the refund claim.

Conclusion: The refund could not be denied on the ground of minor mismatch in description, and the assessee was entitled to the refund of SAD.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the denial of refund was set aside with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund of SAD under the exemption notification cannot be refused for merely technical or minor discrepancies in description of goods when the imported goods are admittedly sold and VAT is paid.

---