Refund eligibility under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus cannot be denied solely because imported goods were sold before out of charge order.

Refund under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus could not be denied merely because imported goods were sold before the Customs out of charge order. The rejection rested only on that timing ground, but earlier Tribunal decisions had already settled that prior sale, by itself, is not a valid basis to refuse refund where the claim is otherwise maintainable. The denial was therefore unsustainable, and the assessee's refund claim succeeded on this issue.

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Issues: Whether refund under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus dated 14.9.2007 can be denied merely because the imported goods were sold before issuance of the Customs out of charge order.

Analysis: The refund claim had been rejected solely on the ground that the imported goods were sold prior to issuance of the out of charge order. The issue was treated as already settled by earlier Tribunal decisions, which held that such prior sale, by itself, does not justify denial of refund where the claim is otherwise maintainable. The rejection of refund on this ground was therefore not sustainable.

Conclusion: The refund could not be rejected merely because the goods were sold before the out of charge order, and the assessee succeeded on this issue.

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