Refund of customs duty on abandoned imported goods was maintainable because surrender to Customs occurred before clearance.

Customs duty paid on imported goods abandoned to Customs before clearance is refundable under Section 23(2) of the Customs Act, 1962. Where the record showed that the photo albums were surrendered and taken over by Customs before final adjudication, the goods ceased to remain dutiable goods for which duty could be retained. On those facts, the importer was not liable to pay duty on the abandoned goods, and the refund claim was maintainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether customs duty paid on imported goods that were surrendered and abandoned to Customs before clearance was refundable under Section 23(2) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The goods, being photo albums imported along with machinery, were shown to have been surrendered to Customs and taken over by them before final adjudication. Once the goods were abandoned to Customs, they ceased to be goods on which duty could be retained as payable. The materials on record established abandonment before clearance, and the importer was not liable to pay duty on such abandoned goods.

Conclusion: The refund claim was maintainable and the duty paid on the abandoned photo albums was refundable to the appellants.

---