2023 (9) TMI 774 - DELHI HIGH COURT

Drawback claim - The respondents / Department have neither passed a formal order rejecting the claim nor have they released the same in terms of the application in terms of Rule 12(1) of the Customs, Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, 1995 - Entitlement of claim where the petitioner did not pay any Basic Customs Duty [BCD] on the imported articles and merely paid the additional duty as imposed in terms of Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 - HELD THAT:- The provision of section 3 to the Tariff Act obliges an importer to pay an additional duty equivalent to the excise duty for the time being leviable on a like article if produced or manufactured in India. It becomes pertinent to note that while the additional duty which comes to be levied in terms of Section 3 of the Tariff Act is to be computed bearing in mind the excise duty which would be leviable on a like article, it remains a duty which gets attracted at the time of import. The mere fact that the said additional duty is equated to a duty of excise which is leviable does not essentially change the character of that duty as being one other than that which is imposed on import of articles into India.

Since in the present case, an AI Rate had been prescribed, there was no corresponding obligation placed upon the petitioner to independently prove the payment of customs or central excise duty or for that matter service tax. In any case, the scope of Condition No. 6 has been duly explained in Combitic Global and since undisputedly, it was the AI Rate which applied, the submissions urged by the respondents on this score are clearly rendered untenable.

Undisputedly, the free shipping bills were duly amended on 27 February 2015 whereafter the petitioner applied for release of drawback benefits on 06 May 2015. In terms of Section 75A of the Customs Act, interest becomes payable upon the expiry of a period of one month from the date of making of an application seeking drawback till such time as the payment is ultimately affected. In the facts of the present case, therefore, the respondents are also liable to pay interest which would commence upon the expiry of the period of one month from 06 May 2015 and would run till such time as the amount is ultimately paid.

The respondents are hereby commanded to attend to the claim of the petitioner for disbursement of drawback benefits as claimed and release the same with due expedition - Petition allowed.