Anti-dumping duty on MOOWR-warehoused imports cleared for home use after notification; s.15(1)(b) ex-bond date, so applies

Anti-dumping duty (ADD) applicability to goods imported and warehoused under the MOOWR scheme, but cleared for home consumption after issuance of an ADD notification, turned on the rate-determination date under the Customs Act. The Authority held that, by virtue of s. 9A(8) of the Customs Tariff Act, the Customs Act machinery applies to ADD, and for warehoused goods cleared under s. 68, s. 15(1)(b) fixes the duty rate as on the date of filing the ex-bond Bill of Entry, not the warehousing import date; warehousing jurisprudence rejects any "freezing" of duties at import. Consequently, the ADD notification applied to such warehoused goods cleared on/after its effective date, and the contrary plea was rejected.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether Anti-Dumping Duty (Notification No. 16/2024-Customs (ADD) dated 27.09.2024) imposed after the date of filing into-bond warehousing bills but in force on the date of filing the ex-bond bill of entry is leviable at the time of clearance for home consumption of goods warehoused under the MOOWR scheme.

Analysis: Section 15(1)(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 fixes the date for determination of the rate of duty for goods cleared from a warehouse under Section 68 as the date of presentation of the bill of entry for home consumption. Section 2(25) defines warehoused goods as "imported goods" until cleared for home consumption. Section 9A(8) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 applies the machinery of the Customs Act, including the date-of-determination rule, to anti-dumping duty. Judicial authorities on warehousing confirm that the tentative into-bond assessment does not freeze the duty structure and that intervening lawful changes in duty between warehousing and ex-bond clearance govern leviability. Administrative FAQs and circulars describing MOOWR as a duty-deferment scheme do not override the statutory mandate of Section 15(1)(b) and the deeming operation of Section 9A(8). The MOOWR scheme defers payment but does not convert deferment into an exemption that prevents subsequent prospective duties from applying at ex-bond clearance.

Conclusion: Notification No. 16/2024-Customs (ADD) dated 27.09.2024 is applicable to aluminium frames (CTH 7610 90 10) imported and warehoused under the MOOWR scheme between December 2023 and September 2024 if such goods are cleared for home consumption on or after 27.09.2024; the rate of duty at ex-bond clearance shall be the rate in force on the date of presentation of the bill of entry for home consumption, and this includes anti-dumping duty as well as BCD, SWS and IGST.

---