Tribunal grants refund appeal due to pandemic exclusion in limitation period calculation.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal challenging the rejection of a refund claim for late filing fee paid during the COVID-19 pandemic. The appellant successfully argued that the refund claim was not time-barred due to the exclusion of the pandemic period in computing the limitation period. The Tribunal found that the late fee payment was made under a mistaken notion of law, not falling under customs duty or interest, and ordered the refund. The Revenue's failure to consider relevant legal principles and the appellant's right to challenge the assessment order were noted, leading to a decision in favor of the appellant.

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Issues:
The issues involved in the judgment are late filing fee waiver due to COVID-19 pandemic, rejection of refund claim, application being time-barred, nature of late fee payment, waiver provisions not availed, challenge of assessment order, refund of amount paid under mistaken notion of law, and exclusion of limitation period due to pandemic.

Late Filing Fee Waiver and Refund Claim:
The appellant challenged the Order-in-Appeal passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) Guntur, regarding the late filing fee waiver during the COVID-19 pandemic. The appellant's CHA could not file the bills of entry in time, resulting in the payment of late fee. A refund claim was filed for the amount paid, which was rejected by the original Adjudicating Authority and the First Appellate Authority. The appellant argued that there was no delay in filing the refund claim as per the Hon'ble Supreme Court's order excluding the period from 15/03/2020 to 28/02/2022 in computing the limitation period.

Revenue Bias and Legal Discipline:
The appellant contended that the orders passed by the authorities showed a revenue bias and did not consider the submissions properly. The appellant highlighted that the department ignored judicial pronouncements related to limitation under the Central Excise Act and Customs Act for cases involving tax payment under a mistaken notion of law. The appellant emphasized that rejecting the refund claim for tax paid under a mistaken notion of law goes against the Constitution of India.

Nature of Late Fee Payment and Refund Eligibility:
The Authorized Representative for the revenue argued that the application for refund was time-barred and that the late fee paid does not fall under the category of customs duty or interest. It was mentioned that the appellant did not avail the waiver provisions for late fee and did not challenge the assessment order, which is a prerequisite for refund claims. Various case laws were relied upon to support this argument.

Judicial Findings and Decision:
After hearing both sides and examining the case records, the Tribunal found that the issue was not about refunding duty or interest but about returning the amount paid under a mistaken notion of law. The Tribunal noted the contradictory stand of the Revenue regarding the applicability of Section 27 of the Customs Act and the challenge to the assessment order. It was observed that the appellant sought reassessment, which was denied by the Department. The Tribunal concluded that the appeal succeeded on both limitation and merit grounds, ultimately allowing the appeal.

Separate Judgment by Mr. P. ANJANI KUMAR, MEMBER (TECHNICAL):
The judgment was pronounced in the open court on 13.07.2023 by Mr. P. ANJANI KUMAR, Member (Technical).

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