CESTAT quashes delayed SCN, restores drawback on activated mobile exports under Rule 17 and Section 75(1)

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....CESTAT allowed the appeal filed by the exporter (A) and set aside the order of the Commissioner of Customs (Export), Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai, which had denied drawback and ordered recovery under Rule 17 of the Customs and Central Excise Drawback Rules, 2017 read with Section 75(1) of the Customs Act. Relying on the binding precedent of the jurisdictional HC and the clarificatory Circular of CBIC on activation/unlocking of mobile phones prior to export, CESTAT held that the Department's view that the goods were "taken into use" was untenable. CESTAT further held that issuance of the SCN on 26.03.2024, after an unexplained delay of over four years from investigation, was unjustified, rendering the SCN liable to be quashed.....