Self-assessed Bills of Entry attain finality unless challenged...

Self-assessed Bills of Entry attain finality unless challenged within the statutory appellate period. The Tribunal held that reassessment under Section 17(5) applies only where departmental verification, examination, testing or similar scrutiny shows the self-assessment to be incorrect; a later allegation of short shipment, raised about two years after clearance, could not reopen a concluded assessment. It further held that refund proceedings cannot be used as a substitute for appeal or as a fresh assessment on merits. Because the importer did not timely challenge the assessment, and any belated challenge was beyond the condonable period, both reassessment and refund were rightly rejected.

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