https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=50052 A customs assessment kept provisional for multiple purposes remains provisional until a true final assessment of classification, valuation and duty liability is completed under Section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962; encashment of bank guarantees does not by itself finalise the assessment. Where an exemption notification requires production of a clearance or certificate without prescribing a time-limit, compliance is to be made within a reasonable time, and delay not attributable to the importer does not defeat the exemption. On that footing, treating the bank guarantee encashment as final duty payment was premature, the refund claim was not barred by limitation, and consequential refund relief followed. en-us Wed, 11 Oct 2000 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:56:21 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=50052 A customs assessment kept provisional for multiple purposes remains provisional until a true final assessment of classification, valuation and duty liability is completed under Section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962; encashment of bank guarantees does not by itself finalise the assessment. Where an exemption notification requires production of a clearance or certificate without prescribing a time-limit, compliance is to be made within a reasonable time, and delay not attributable to the importer does not defeat the exemption. On that footing, treating the bank guarantee encashment as final duty payment was premature, the refund claim was not barred by limitation, and consequential refund relief followed. Case-Laws Central Excise Wed, 11 Oct 2000 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=50052