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2019 (9) TMI 1266 - AT - CustomsRefund of SAD - N/N. 102/2007-Cus. dt. 14.09.2007 read with Notification No.93/2008 dt. 01.08.2008 - rejection of refund on the ground that the appellants have filed all these refund claims after the period of one year - Difference of opinion among various High Courts - HELD THAT:- The provisions for refund of Customs duty available under the Customs Act is under Section 27. The Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in the case of SONY INDIA PVT. LTD. VERSUS THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS [2014 (4) TMI 870 - DELHI HIGH COURT] has taken a liberal view on interpreting the exemption notification and held that since the purpose of availing the SAD is to provide level playing field between the imported goods and the domestic goods, when the imported goods are resold on payment of VAT to the State Government, the exemption notification provides for refund of SAD. It may or may not be always possible for the importer to resell the goods and file the refund claim within time depending on his market conditions. Taking a liberal view, the Hon’ble High Court held that refund is available without the limitation of one year indicated in the exemption Notification 102/97 after amendment. On the other hand, the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the case of M/S. CMS INFO SYSTEMS LIMITED VERSUS THE UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS [2017 (1) TMI 786 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT] has constructed the exemption notification strictly and held that all conditions including the time limit within which the refund claim has to be filed must be fulfilled. We also find that there is no order of the jurisdictional High Court of Madras. Judicial discipline requires us to follow the judgment of the Apex Court and interpret the exemption notification strictly as it has been drafted including the time limit within which refund applications have to be filed. We find that the judgment of the Hon’ble High Court of Bombay in the case of CMS INFO System (supra)M/S. CMS INFO SYSTEMS LIMITED VERSUS THE UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS [2017 (1) TMI 786 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT] is consistent and appropriate, syncs well with the ratio of COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (IMPORT) , MUMBAI VERSUS M/S. DILIP KUMAR AND COMPANY & ORS. [2018 (7) TMI 1826 - SUPREME COURT], which is required to be followed. The refund applications of the importer beyond the time limit have been correctly rejected by the lower authorities - Appeal dismissed.
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