Refund claims under Notification 17/2009 can cover multiple shipping bills with Rs.500 threshold applying to total claim amount

CESTAT Chandigarh ruled on refund claims under Notification No.17/2009, determining whether claims must be filed shipping bill-wise and if claims below Rs.500/- per shipping bill should be rejected. The tribunal held that the notification permits filing single refund claims covering multiple shipping bills, with details required for each bill. The Rs.500/- threshold applies to the total claim amount, not per shipping bill. A harmonious reading of the notification and Form A-1 confirms no restriction on number of shipping bills per claim. The revenue's interpretation was incorrect, and the appeal was allowed.

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Issues Involved:
1. Whether the refund claims should be filed shipping bill-wise as per Notification No. 17/2009.
2. Whether the refund claim amount less than Rs.500/- per shipping bill is permissible.

Summary:

Issue 1: Filing Refund Claims Shipping Bill-wise
The appellant, M/s Cosmo Ferrites Limited, engaged in the manufacture and export of soft ferrites powder and components, filed various refund claims for services used in exports. The Deputy/Assistant Commissioner rejected the refund claims where the amount was less than Rs.500/- per shipping bill. The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld this decision. The appellant argued that the authorities misread Notification No. 17/2009 dated 07.07.2009, which does not stipulate that refund claims should be filed shipping bill-wise. The Notification's language indicates that details of refund claims should be provided shipping bill-wise but does not mandate filing claims shipping bill-wise.

Issue 2: Refund Claim Amount Less Than Rs.500/-
The Notification No. 17/2009 specifies that no refund claim shall be allowed if the amount is less than Rs.500/-. The appellant contended that this condition does not imply that the refund claims should be filed separately for each shipping bill. A harmonious reading of the Notification and Form A-1 appended to it shows that there is no restriction on the number of shipping bills in a refund claim. The only condition is that no refund claim shall be allowed if the amount is less than Rs.500/-. The Tribunal found that interpreting the Notification to require filing claims shipping bill-wise would lead to unnecessary duplication of work and burden both the appellants and the Department.

Tribunal's Decision:
The Tribunal concluded that the Notification does not require refund claims to be filed shipping bill-wise. The subject refund claims were processed after obtaining a report from the jurisdictional Range Officer confirming their admissibility. The adjudicating authority's interpretation of Notification No. 17/2009 was found to be incorrect. The Tribunal referred to the case of Lucid Colloids Limited, where similar issues were deliberated, and the Tribunal's decision was partially upheld by the Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan. Consequently, all the appeals were allowed with consequential relief as per law.

(Pronounced on 08/09/2023)

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