TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (7) TMI 176
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....n Customs Appeal No.30949 of 2018, by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (for short, 'the Tribunal'), Regional Bench at Hyderabad, wherein the Tribunal rectified its earlier order to the following extent: "Consequently, the interest, as applicable during the period, on pre-deposit under section 129EE, needs to be paid to the appellant." 2. Factual matrix giving rise to the Appeal is to the effect the appellant had appealed before the Office of the Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam (for short, 'the Commissioner') challenging an Order-In- Original, dated 09.09.2005, imposing duty and penalty upon him with regard to incorrect availing of DEPB scrips. During pendency of the Appeal, the appellant had deposite....
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....ng section 129E, the amended version of this section was copied wrongly instead of the un-amended version. In view of the above, the following changes are made in the above final order. A. In Para 8 of the final order, instead of the extracted section 129E, the following shall be substituted. "SECTION 129E. Deposit, pending appeal, of duty and interest demanded or penalty levied - Where in any appeal under this Chapter, the decision or order appealed against relates to any duty and interest demanded in respect of goods which are not under the control of the customs authorities or any penalty levied under this Act, the person desirous of appealing against such decision or order shall, pending the appeal, deposit with the pr....
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....osit was made in 2006 when there was no statutory restriction on the discretion to grant interest from the date of deposit. Hence, the rectification order was incorrect and contrary to the law declared by the Apex Court in Sandvik Asia Limited v. Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Pune and others 2006 (196) ELT 257 (SC). 5. Sri Suresh Kumar Routhu, learned senior standing counsel for customs, appears on behalf of the respondent and opposes the contention of the appellant. 6. We are unable to accept such contention of the appellant for the following reasons: (i) Appellant had made the deposit of duty and penalty in 2006 and at that material point of time, there was no statutory provision in the Customs Act with regard to refund of ....
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....er cent per annum as is for the time being fixed by the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, on such amount from the date of payment of amount till, the date of refund of such amount: Provided that the amount deposited under section 129E, prior to the commencement of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2014, shall continue to be governed by the provisions of section 129EE as it stood before the commencement of the said Act.]" 8. An analysis of the aforesaid statutory morphism would show while the original provision stipulated interest would be payable at a rate specified in Section 27A after expiry of three months from the date of communication of the order of the appellate authority, till the date of refund of such ....