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2019 (12) TMI 335 - HC - Central ExciseRebate of Central Excise Duty - time limit for filing rebate claim, within one year of the date of their export - It is submitted that, Export Promotion (EP) copy of the Shipping Bills, which were required to be filed with the rebate claim, were not made available to it - section 11B of CEA - HELD THAT:- Section 11B of the Act is clear and categorical. The Explanation thereto states, in unambiguous terms, that Section 11B would also apply to rebate claims. Necessarily, therefore, the rebate claim of the petitioner was required to be filed within one year of the export of the goods. In Everest Flavours Ltd. v. Union of India [2012 (4) TMI 480 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT], the High Court of Bombay, speaking through Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J. (as he then was) clearly held that the period of one year, stipulated in Section 11B of the Act, for preferring a claim of rebate, has necessarily to be complied with, as a mandatory requirement - this is agreed upon. The submission, vehemently urged by Mr. Sachdev cannot be agreed upon, that, the date of submission of the ARE-1, to the Customs Officer, ought to be treated as the date of filing of the rebate claim. “ARE-1” expands to “Application for Removal of Excisable Goods” - The ARE-1 is, therefore, an application which accompanies the removal of the excisable goods, and its submission is necessarily anterior, in point of time, to the export of the goods. Indeed, this is apparent from Clauses 3(a) (vii), (xii), (xiv) and 3(b) of Notification 19/2004 – CE (NT) (supra), which deal with the procedure for sealing of goods, examination thereof and presentation of rebate claim. Clearly, the submission of the ARE-1 is anterior to the filing of the rebate claim and the date of submission of the said application cannot, therefore, be treated as the date of filing of the rebate claim - Mr. Sachdev was unable to draw our attention to any statutory provision, or judicial authority, enabling the date of submission of the ARE-1 application to be treated as the date of filing of the rebate claim. Section 11(B)(1) of the Act read with the Explanation thereto, clearly requires any claim for rebate to be submitted within one year of export of the goods, whereagainst rebate is claimed. There is no provision which permits relaxation of this stipulated one year time limit - the concurrent view of all three authorities below i.e. the AC, the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Revisionary Authority, that the rebate claim of the petitioner merited rejection, as it was barred by time, need not be disturbed. Petition dismissed.
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