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2023 (7) TMI 594 - AT - CustomsRefund claim of late fee mistakenly paid - late fee waived off by public notice no.21/2020 dated 26/03/2020, later on withdrawn by public notice dated 10/06/2020 - time limitation - HELD THAT:- The issue involved here is not refund of duty or an interest thereof but a simple return of the amount paid by the appellant under mistaken notion of law. This is governed by the general principles of restitution as in the case of refund of deposits, fines and penalties - It is found that the Revenue is taking a contradictory stand in as much as on the one hand, it claims that the refund of late fees is not governed by the provisions of Section 27 of the Customs Act 1962 and on the other, they find that the order of assessment being not challenged, they cannot be challenged by taking the route of refund. When the refund is not covered by Section 27, as revenue content, the question of challenging the assessment does not arise. Moreover, it is on record that the appellant has sought for reassessment of the bills of entry which were denied to the appellant saying that there was no provision in the system. Thus, the stand of the Department is not only contradictory to their own argument but also legally not acceptable. The issue is of a simple restitution. Even if one argues that the limitation provided in Section 27 is applicable to any type of refund. The Hon'ble Supreme Court's order on exclusion of the limitation period in view of the pandemic comes into picture. In view of the Supreme Court order, it had to be held that the refund is not hit by the limitation. As the issue involved is not of assessment of duty on classification, valuation of goods, the challenge of the assessment is not warranted. It is humbly opined that the ITC case does not cover such situations. Moreover, the appellant’s application for reassessment has been rejected. The appeal succeeds on both counts i.e, limitation and merit - Appeal allowed.
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