Special Additional Duty refund claims under the SAD scheme are not governed by Section 27 limitation when substantive conditions are met.

Refund of Special Additional Duty under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus., as amended, is treated as maintainable where the claimant satisfies the substantive refund conditions, including proof of payment of sales tax or VAT. The time limit in Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 does not govern such refund claims under the SAD scheme. Applying the earlier view of the same Bench and in the absence of any contrary authority, a marginally delayed claim was allowed to proceed, and the refund was granted.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to refund of Special Additional Duty under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. despite filing the claim belatedly, and whether the time limit under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 applied to such refund claims.

Analysis: The refund arose under the Special Additional Duty scheme in Notification No. 102/2007-Cus., as amended, read with the Board circulars. The earlier decision of the same Bench, following the view that SAD is refundable on proof of payment of sales tax or VAT and that the refund mechanism is not governed by the limitation in Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962, was treated as applicable to the present facts. The delay in filing the refund claim was only marginal, and no contrary authority was produced to displace the earlier ruling.

Conclusion: The belated refund claim was held to be maintainable, the impugned order was set aside, and the refund was allowed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Limitation under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 does not govern refund of Special Additional Duty claimed under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. when the substantive conditions for refund are otherwise satisfied.

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