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2017 (3) TMI 451 - AT - CustomsRemission of duty - section 23 of CA, 1962 - denial on the ground that firstly, the appellants has not used the goods for the intended purpose and secondly as they had not fulfilled the export obligation stipulated in the notification - re-warehoused goods in the bonded premises got burnt and were completely destroyed in a major fire accident - Held that: - It is pertinent to mention that Section 23 does not state that remission of duty can be allowed only if duty is paid - Section 13 deals with situation of remission of duty when goods are lost by pilferage. Section 23 deals with remission of duty when goods are lost otherwise than as a result of pilferage. The Oxford dictionary meaning of remission is 'cancellation of a debt, charge or penalty'. The word used in Section 23 is remission' and not 'refund'. Neither does Section 13 nor Section 23 state that in order to claim remission the duty has to be first paid by the assessee. The goods when imported under notification will get duty exemption only upon fulfilling the conditions. Therefore, even though exempted at the time of import, a demand can be raised when the conditions are violated. In the instant case, department has raised the duty demand for the reason that appellant did not fulfill the conditions of the notification. Then the question arises, under the circumstances, whether appellant has to pay the duty or can be granted remission of duty. Section 23 when read as a whole (i.e., with both subsections and the proviso) it is clear that there is no pre-condition to pay the duty before claiming remission. It would be meaningless to call upon the assessee who has lost the goods imported, to pay the duty and then request for remission of the same. The Section would then be of no purpose. The Law makers in their innate wisdom has used the word remission and not refund, adjustment or rebate. The rejection of remission of duty ₹ 21,52,512/- is unjustified - appeal allowed - decided in favor of appellant.
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