Special Additional Duty refund allowed where imported and sold goods were duly correlated and substantive exemption conditions were met.

Refund of Special Additional Duty under Notification No. 102/2007-Cus was allowed where the imported goods and the goods sold in the local market were identifiable and duly correlated through item code, description, sales tax or VAT documents, and the statutory auditor's certificate. The record showed that a change in brand name did not break the correlation when the substantive linkage between import and sale was established. A mere technical or procedural lapse could not defeat the exemption once the refund conditions were met, and the limited remand did not permit a de novo reconsideration of eligibility. The refund claim was therefore maintainable, with applicable interest.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to refund of Special Additional Duty under the exemption notification on proof that the imported goods and the goods sold in the local market were the same and were duly correlated by the requisite documents.

Analysis: The refund claim was governed by Notification No. 102/2007-Cus, and the supporting circular clarified that refund could be sanctioned on production of the original sales tax or VAT documents along with a statutory auditor's certificate correlating the payment of such tax on the imported goods with the sale invoices. The record showed that the imported goods and the sold goods were identifiable through item code and description despite a change in brand name, and the documentary correlation was produced before the authorities. A technical or procedural infraction could not defeat the object of the exemption when the substantive requirement of correlating import and sale stood established. The adjudicating authority, in the limited remand, was not justified in travelling beyond verification into a de novo reconsideration of eligibility.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held to be maintainable and the appellant was entitled to refund of Special Additional Duty with applicable interest.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund under the SAD exemption notification cannot be denied for a mere technical procedural lapse where the imported goods and sold goods are duly correlated and the substantive conditions for refund are satisfied.

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