2020 (4) TMI 245

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....and filed bills of entry to clear the cargo. These bills were provisionally assessed as the test report from the chemical examiner was awaited. While assessing the bills provisionally, the assessing officer included barge charges, towing charges and stevedoring charges for the purpose of calculation of duty. After receiving the test report, the assessing officer finalised the assessment of the bills of entry based on the test reports and also including the above charges in the assessable value. According to the appellant, these charges are not includable in the assessable value in view of the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Ispat Industries Ltd., Vs CC, Mumbai [2006 (202) ELT 561 (SC)]. Without challenging the assessment o....

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.... 5. The question which arises is whether an application for refund under Section 27 could be filed in respect of any duty paid in excess in pursuance of an assessment order under Section 17 of the Customs Act, 1962 without first challenging the assessment order itself. In other words, when the duty has been assessed wrongly in excess by the Assessing Officer or by the assessee under self assessment and it has been paid does the appellant have to first challenge the assessment order or whether the appellant can directly claim refund of the excess duty so paid. This issue has been a point of contention and Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Flock India Pvt Ltd., (supra) and Priya Blue Industries Ltd., (supra) held that the assessment order ha....

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....sment by the importer himself. The officers were given the option of re-assessing in certain cases. The question which was addressed by the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi in the case of Micromax Informatics Ltd., (supra) and Aman Medical Products (supra) is whether in such cases where there is no assessment order by the officer either because of the RMS system clearing the goods or because there was only self assessment by the importer whether a refund claim can be filed if any excess duty was paid. The Hon'ble High Court of Delhi distinguished such cases from the case judgments of Flock India Ltd., (supra) and Priya Blue Industries Ltd., (supra) and held that in such cases refund can be sanctioned even without challenging the assessment of....