TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (10) TMI 1099
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....nd the period of three months under Section 27A of the Act on refund of Special Additional Duty (SAD) under Notification No. 102/2007 issued under section 25 of the Act in the absence of a specific provision for payment of interest in the said Notification as subsequently clarified in Para 4.3 of the Circular No. 6/2008-Cus dated 28th April, 2008 issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). 7. The brief facts are that the Respondent filed a claim on 2nd March, 2010 in terms of Notification No. 102/2007 for refund of SAD paid by it. The refund application was rejected on 18th June, 2010 on the ground that the period of limitation had expired. The appeal filed by the Respondent against the said order was allowed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) on 4th January, 2011. The refund application was remanded to the Assistant Commissioner for a fresh consideration. Thereafter, the refund was granted. However, the claim of the Respondent for interest on the refunded SAD was rejected by the Assistant Commissioner by an order dated 30th March, 2012. 8. The appeal against the said order was dismissed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) by an order dated 16th October, ....
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....pply to the duty chargeable under this section as they apply in relation to the duties leviable under that Act. " 12. As a result, the provisions of the Act in so far as they relate refund of duty and interest payable on the refunded amount of duty in the event of delay in refund, as provided by Sections 27 and 27 A of the Act would apply to refund of SAD levied under Section 3 of the CTA as well. The relevant portions of Sections 27 and 27A of the Act which are relevant for the purposes of the present case read as under: "27. Claim for refund of duty (1) Any person claiming refund of any duty or interest,- (a) paid by him (b) borne by him,- may make an application in such form and manner as may be prescribed for such refund to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs, before the expiry of one year, from the date of payment of such duty or interest. Provided that where an application for refund has been made before the date on which the Finance Bill, 2011 receives the assent of the President, such application shall be deemed to have been made under sub-section (1), as it stood before the date on which the Finance Bill, 2011 receives the a....
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....rson; (b) the [duty and interest, if any, paid on such duty], on imports made by an individual for his personal use; (c) the [duty and interest, if any, paid on such duty] borne by the buyer, if he had not passed on the incidence of such [duty and interest, if any, paid on such duty], to any other person; (d) the export duty as specified in section 26; (e) drawback of duty payable under sections 74 and 75; (f) the [duty and interest, if any, paid on such duty] borne by any other such class of applicants as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify: Provided further that no notification under clause (f) of the first proviso shall be issued unless in the opinion of the Central Government the incidence of [duty and interest, if any, paid on such duty] has not been passed on by the persons concerned to any other person. .......... 27A. Interest on delayed refunds If any duty ordered to be refunded under sub-section (2) of section 27 to an applicant is not refunded with three months from the date of receipt of application under sub-section (1) of that section, there shall be paid to that applicant interest at such rate, not below ten....
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....e claims on a monthly basis, Board feels that the number of refund claims should be manageable for disposal within the normal period of three months. Further, in the absence of specific provision for payment of interest being made applicable under the said notification, the payment of interest does not arise for these claims. However, Board directs that the field formations shall ensure disposal of all such refund claims under the said notification within the normal period not exceeding three months from the date of receipt." 15. The issue that arises as far as the present case is concerned is whether the Department was justified in denying interest on the amount directed to be refunded to the Respondent by resorting to para 4.3 of the above circular. 16. While, the CESTAT has relied on the decision of the Madras High Court in KSJ Metal Impex (P) Ltd. (supra), considering that the said decision of the learned Single Judge of that High Court is pending in appeal before a Division Bench of that Court, it is proposed to examine the issue with reference to the provisions of the Act, the CTA, the Notification No. 102/2007 and the CBEC Circular No. 6/2008. 17. As already noticed, the ....