TMI Blog1996 (12) TMI 149X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the erstwhile tariff and not 15A ibid. The respondents had paid Central Excise duty under Item 15A and recovered the same from their customers. Subsequently, as a result of the reclassification of the product under Tariff Item 68, they had claimed refund of Central Excise duty amount to Rs. 6,39,495.10 and Rs. 10,44,777.33. The Assistant Collector while sanctioning the refund took note of the fact that the refund that was becoming payable to the claimants as a result of the reclassification was of duty paid by them but recovered from their clients and consequently the amount of refund would add to the assessable value of the goods. In addition, in the former case where the refund claim claimed was Rs. 6,39,495.10, the Assistant Collector he ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e final judgment is expected shortly. They have, therefore, requested that pending the availability of the judgment in the said case, the present appeals may be adjourned. They had also made a request for transfer of the appeal to the Bombay Bench of the Tribunal. 4. Shri T.R. Malik, learned Senior Departmental Representative submitted by way of reply to the plea made by the respondents for adjournment of the case that the issue involved in the appeals is not unjust enrichment and hence the Supreme Court decision in the refund cases need not be awaited. The effect of refund on the assessable value of goods has been considered in a number of decisions by the Courts and the Tribunal. He referred to a recent decision of the Tribunal, Final O ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cted from the normal price and not that element of duty which is refunded by the Department, the benefit of which has not been passed on to the buyer? 2. Whether as per Clause (ii) of the 2nd part of the explanation to Section 4(4)(d)(ii) of the Act, the refunded amount can be included in the normal price, in cases where the higher rate of duty is initially assessed and collected from the customers and subsequently on a proper computation of value as per Section 4, the value of goods gets reduced resulting in refund of duty, the benefit of such refund is not passed on to buyer? 3. Where full duty is levied on exempted goods and subsequently as a result of applying the exemption notification, the excess duty is refunded, whether as per C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sment is by giving effect to an exemption notification and is equally applicable to a case of the present type where the reassessment was as a result of reclassification of the goods attracting a lower rate of duty. 7. Respectfully following the said judgment we agree with the contention raised in the appeals that the amount of refund arising from the reassessment of duty on the reclassification of the goods in question would add to their price or cum-duty value and any refund actually payable to the respondents has to be in accordance with such reassessment with reference to the altered higher value. As regards the contention raised in the appeal about the time barred nature of the claim in the first appeal, we agree with the findings of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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