Customs refund after provisional assessment cannot exceed final reassessment unless that assessment is separately challenged.

A refund arising from finalisation of a provisional customs assessment cannot exceed the amount fixed by the final re-assessment unless that reassessment is first challenged and altered. If an assessee claims more than the amount finally determined, the excess claim is treated as a separate refund claim and must satisfy the statutory requirements under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962, including limitation and unjust enrichment. Where the final re-assessment remains unchallenged and has attained finality, the refund sanctioning authority is bound by it and cannot grant a higher amount. The balance refund claim was therefore not maintainable within the unmodified final assessment and statutory refund regime.

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Issues: Whether refund beyond the amount determined in the final re-assessment could be granted without first challenging that reassessment, and whether such a claim was governed by the refund procedure and limitation under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The refund arose out of finalisation of provisional assessment under Section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962. The final re-assessment order determined the admissible refund, and the refund sanctioning authority could not travel beyond that determination. Where the assessee seeks an amount higher than what is finally re-assessed, the claim is not a mere automatic adjustment refund but an additional refund claim that must satisfy the requirements of Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962, including limitation and the doctrine of unjust enrichment. Since the final re-assessment was not challenged, it attained finality and the refund authority was bound by it.

Conclusion: The higher refund claim was not maintainable without first getting the final re-assessment modified, and the rejection of the balance amount was correct.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the claimed excess refund could not be granted outside the confines of the unchallenged final re-assessment and the statutory refund regime.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund claim arising after finalisation of provisional assessment cannot exceed the amount fixed by the final assessment unless that assessment is first challenged or the further claim independently satisfies the refund requirements under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962.

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