Refund claim cannot be denied for a non-mandatory certificate format where genuineness of the claim is undisputed.

Refund denial based solely on a Chartered Accountant's certificate being in an unstated format and not mentioning the year was held unsustainable. The customs notification did not prescribe any mandatory certificate format, and the public notice format was treated as only indicative. As the objection concerned only a formal defect and not the genuineness of the refund claim, it could not justify rejection of refund. The impugned order was therefore set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether rejection of the refund claim on the ground that the Chartered Accountant's certificate was not in the prescribed format and did not mention the year was sustainable.

Analysis: The Authority found that the rejection rested on formal defects in the Chartered Accountant's certificate and not on any doubt as to the genuineness of the refund claim. Relying on the earlier decision of the Bench, it was held that the format mentioned in the public notice was only suggested or indicative, and not a mandatory format prescribed for refund under the relevant customs notification. The notification itself did not prescribe any specific format for the certificate, and the alleged deficiency was therefore not a valid ground to deny refund.

Conclusion: The rejection of the refund claim was not sustainable in law and the impugned order was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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