Refund of countervailing duty allowed where concessional notification and correct tariff rate were overlooked for assessed goods

Where the basic customs classification was not in dispute, refund of countervailing duty was sustainable because the goods were assessable under Item 26AA and the refusal had arisen from miscalculation and failure to apply the concessional notification. The appellants accepted the classification and confined their claim to correct levy of countervailing duty, so the proper rate of duty governed the assessment. On that basis, the refund claim was allowed in their favour.

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Issues: Whether the appellants were entitled to refund of countervailing duty on the goods, when the basic customs classification was not in dispute and the applicable countervailing duty classification was under Item 26AA of the tariff.

Analysis: The basic customs classification was expressly not pressed before the Tribunal. On the materials accepted by the appellate authority, the goods attracted countervailing duty under Item 26AA of the tariff. The refusal of refund appears to have resulted from miscalculation and from overlooking the concessional notification applicable to the assessed goods. Since the appellants confined their claim to correct levy of countervailing duty and accepted the classification, the refund claim was sustainable on the proper rate of duty.

Conclusion: The appellants were entitled to refund of countervailing duty and the issue was decided in their favour.

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