End-use bond discharge turns on actual quantity received when certified weighment and end-use evidence establish the imported scrap used.

Where imported melting scrap is cleared under an end-use bond, the quantity for bond discharge and exemption purposes is the actual quantity received and used, not an approximate manifested quantity shown in the bills of entry. The text notes that the declared quantity was based on draught survey, while later weighment slips, independent surveyor certification, port authority certification, and end-use evidence established the quantity actually used in the electric arc furnace. In the absence of any allegation of diversion or misuse, certified physical weighment and end-use documentation were treated as the proper basis for cancelling the bond and supporting the refund claim.

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Issues: Whether, for discharge of the end-use bond and availing exemption under Notification No. 151/77-Cus. dated 15-7-1977, the quantity of imported melting scrap was to be determined on the basis of the approximate manifested weight shown in the bills of entry or on the basis of the actual weight established by subsequent weighment and certification.

Analysis: The quantity declared in the bills of entry was only approximate because it was derived from draught survey and there was no weigh-bridge facility at the port. The actual quantity received was supported by weighment slips certified by an independent surveyor, by certification of the port authorities, and by the end-use certificate showing use in the electric arc furnace. There was no allegation of diversion or misuse. In these circumstances, the earlier departmental communication also indicated that physical weighment of goods actually cleared and the Port Authority's certificate would be accepted for cancellation of the end-use bond.

Conclusion: The actual quantity received and used by the importer, not the approximate manifested quantity, was the proper basis for cancellation of the end-use bond and for the refund claim.

Final Conclusion: The rejection of the refund claims was unsustainable and the appeals succeeded on the basis that the importer was accountable only for the quantity actually received.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the manifested quantity is only approximate and the actual quantity received is reliably established by certified weighment and end-use evidence, the end-use obligation must be discharged on the basis of the actual quantity received.

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