Retrospective excise exemption extends to imported goods, but refund of additional duty remains subject to Customs Act limitation.

Retrospective exemption granted to excise notifications extended, in principle, to additional duty of customs on imported bulk drugs, because an exemption for indigenous goods was treated as applying equally to like imported goods during the relevant interregnum. Refund claims for that additional duty, however, were governed by the Customs Act, 1962 through section 3(6) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and not by the special refund period in the Central Duties of Excise (Retrospective Exemption) Act, 1986. As a result, the claims remained subject to the six-month limitation under section 27(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 and were time-barred.

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Issues: (i) Whether the retrospective exemption granted to excise notifications extended to additional duty of customs on imported bulk drugs for the relevant period; (ii) Whether the refund claims were governed by the six-month limitation in the Customs Act, 1962 or by the special refund period in the Central Duties of Excise (Retrospective Exemption) Act, 1986.

Issue (i): Whether the retrospective exemption granted to excise notifications extended to additional duty of customs on imported bulk drugs for the relevant period.

Analysis: A notification exempting indigenous goods from excise duty also operates to exempt like imported goods from additional duty of customs. The retrospective operation given to the relevant excise notification by the Central Duties of Excise (Retrospective Exemption) Act, 1986 therefore covered the interregnum from 1-3-1986 and conferred exemption on imported bulk drugs during that period.

Conclusion: The exemption was available in principle to imported bulk drugs for the relevant period.

Issue (ii): Whether the refund claims were governed by the six-month limitation in the Customs Act, 1962 or by the special refund period in the Central Duties of Excise (Retrospective Exemption) Act, 1986.

Analysis: Additional duty of customs is a duty of customs and refund thereof is controlled by the Customs Act, 1962 through section 3(6) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The special refund provision in the retrospective exemption Act applied to refund of excise duty and did not govern refund claims for additional duty of customs. The claims were therefore subject to the six-month period under section 27(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 and were time-barred.

Conclusion: The refund claims were barred by limitation under the Customs Act, 1962.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed because, although the retrospective exemption could benefit the imported goods, the refund claims for additional duty of customs were not maintainable in time.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund of additional duty of customs follows the limitation and refund scheme of the Customs Act, 1962, and a special refund period created for excise duty does not govern such claims unless the statute expressly so provides.

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