2023 (11) TMI 463 - AT - Central Excise

Refund claim - whether the Notification No.17/2009 indicates that the refund claims have to be filed shipping bill-wise and in case, the refund claimed in a particular shipping bill is less than Rs.500/-, the subject refund is liable to be rejected? - HELD THAT - A harmonious reading of the Notification makes it very clear that there is no restriction that a refund claim must be filed for each shipping bill and that one refund claim can be filed for more than one shipping bill. For this reason, only, necessity of giving details of each shipping bill is stressed upon in the Notification. Moreover, the table in Form A-1 provides Column for details of shipping bill/ bill of export etc. and understandably, the same needs to be given for each of the shipping bills. If the Revenue s contention was correct, there was no need to mention that the details of the refund claim should be given separately for each shipping bill. Therefore, a conjoint reading of the Notification and the Form A-1 appended to the Notification, gives an unambiguous and the only understanding that there is no restriction on the number of shipping bills in a refund claim. The only condition mentioned at 2(h) being that no refund claim shall be allowed if the same is for an amount less than Rs.500/-. Therefore, the reasoning given in the impugned order is not in tune with the wordings of the Notification. There is no prescription in the Notification that the refund claims should be filed shipping bill-wise and that the Condition No. 2(h) should be read to mean per shipping bill. Appeal allowed.

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Whether the refund claims should be filed shipping bill-wise as per Notification No. 17/2009.
2. Whether the refund claim amount less than Rs.500/- per shipping bill is permissible.

Summary:

Issue 1: Filing Refund Claims Shipping Bill-wise
The appellant, M/s Cosmo Ferrites Limited, engaged in the manufacture and export of soft ferrites powder and components, filed various refund claims for services used in exports. The Deputy/Assistant Commissioner rejected the refund claims where the amount was less than Rs.500/- per shipping bill. The Commissioner (Appeals) upheld this decision. The appellant argued that the authorities misread Notification No. 17/2009 dated 07.07.2009, which does not stipulate that refund claims should be filed shipping bill-wise. The Notification's language indicates that details of refund claims should be provided shipping bill-wise but does not mandate filing claims shipping bill-wise.

Issue 2: Refund Claim Amount Less Than Rs.500/-
The Notification No. 17/2009 specifies that no refund claim shall be allowed if the amount is less than Rs.500/-. The appellant contended that this condition does not imply that the refund claims should be filed separately for each shipping bill. A harmonious reading of the Notification and Form A-1 appended to it shows that there is no restriction on the number of shipping bills in a refund claim. The only condition is that no refund claim shall be allowed if the amount is less than Rs.500/-. The Tribunal found that interpreting the Notification to require filing claims shipping bill-wise would lead to unnecessary duplication of work and burden both the appellants and the Department.

Tribunal's Decision:
The Tribunal concluded that the Notification does not require refund claims to be filed shipping bill-wise. The subject refund claims were processed after obtaining a report from the jurisdictional Range Officer confirming their admissibility. The adjudicating authority's interpretation of Notification No. 17/2009 was found to be incorrect. The Tribunal referred to the case of Lucid Colloids Limited, where similar issues were deliberated, and the Tribunal's decision was partially upheld by the Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan. Consequently, all the appeals were allowed with consequential relief as per law.

(Pronounced on 08/09/2023)