2022 (6) TMI 1139

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....ief as under. The appellant imported "computer and accessories" vide 35 Bills-of-Entry through Air Cargo Complex, Chennai on different dates between November 2007 and April 2008. They had paid the appropriate Customs Duty. Subsequently, the appellant claimed refund of SAD vide refund claim dated 18.10.2008, which was addressed to "The Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Refund (AIR), Air Cargo Unit, Chennai". Though the application for claiming refund was addressed to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Unit, Chennai, the same was wrongly filed before "Refund (Sea), Custom House, Chennai"; the appellant had obtained acknowledgement evidencing the proof of receipt of the refund claim by the Refund (Sea), Custom House, Chennai. Th....

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....ted by the Learned Counsel that the appellant filed the refund claim well within the statutory time-limit of one year from the date of payment of 4% Additional Duty in terms of Notification No. 102/2007 dated 14.09.2007, as amended vide Notification No. 93/2008 dated 01.08.2008. By mistake, the refund claim was filed before the wrong forum. Since the application for refund was filed within time, the Adjudicating Authority ought to have considered the original date of filing of the refund application by the appellant. In this regard, he placed reliance on the following decisions to argue that when a refund application is filed before a wrong authority / forum within the stipulated statutory time-limit, it should be treated as filed within ti....

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....the period of one year from the date of payment of duty and is hit by the limitation of time. The Commissioner (Appeals) vide order impugned herein has upheld the order passed by the Adjudicating Authority. 8. It is clear from the findings recorded by the Adjudicating Authority that the appellant has filed the refund claim within the prescribed time limit of one year from the date of payment of duty, however, before a wrong forum. It is the settled position of law that when a refund claim is filed before a wrong forum, within the statutory time-limit, the date on which the claim was originally filed has to be taken as the date of filing of the refund claim. In the case of M/s. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (supra) a similar issue wa....