Refund of special additional duty cannot be denied by an unrelated limitation date when statutory refund conditions are met.

Refund of special additional duty on imported goods cannot be denied by applying a limitation period or date unrelated to the sale of the goods where the statutory refund conditions are otherwise satisfied. The refund mechanism operates after clearance and sale, and the levy under section 3(5) of the Customs Tariff Act is discharged once the corresponding state tax burden is paid. A time limit drawn from section 27 of the Customs Act cannot be imported to defeat the refund entitlement when it is not supported by the levy scheme. The limitation-based rejection was unsustainable, and the refund was held allowable.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim of special additional duty of customs paid on imported goods could be denied on the ground of limitation by applying a date unrelated to the sale of the imported goods.

Analysis: The refund mechanism for special additional duty operates after clearance and sale of the imported goods, and the levy under section 3(5) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 is satisfied once the corresponding state tax burden is discharged. The order relied on the view that the limitation attached to the refund claim could not override the statutory scheme, and that the applicable date for refund purposes could not be imported from section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 so as to defeat the refund entitlement. The reasoning accepted that the time limit in the notification could not be applied to deny eligibility where the substantive conditions for refund were otherwise met.

Conclusion: The limitation-based rejection of the refund claim was not sustainable, and the appellant was entitled to the refund.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the order rejecting refund was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund condition or time limit that is not supported by the statutory levy scheme cannot be used to deny refund of special additional duty where the imported goods are sold and the refund conditions are otherwise satisfied.

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