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2021 (4) TMI 303

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..... cavator division, the appellant has become the owner of the imported goods or can be said to be in the shoes of a person holding himself out to be the importer. Though IEC of Doosan Infracore India Pvt.Ltd. was used for clearance of the goods, it cannot be said that appellant is a total stranger to Doosan Infracore India Pvt.Ltd. So also, it cannot be said that the appellant does not have any ownership over the goods. The agreement is sufficient evidence to satisfy that the ownership of the goods was transferred from Doosan Infracore India Pvt.Ltd. to the appellant herein - before the goods were cleared for home consumption as per slump sale agreement, the liability to pay all duties including SAD on the imported goods is on the appellant. Consequent to slump sale agreement, not only the liability to pay duty but also the right to claim SAD refund also is passed on to the appellant herein - sanction of refund to the appellant is legal and proper. In the present case, there is no misuse or abuse of IEC code and the appellant being the owner of the goods has used IEC code of Doosan Infracore India Pvt.Ltd. for clearing the goods - There is no violation of condition of Notificatio .....

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..... on Equipment India Pvt. Ltd. was yet to obtain IEC. They later obtained IEC on 27.4.2015. After clearance of goods, the appellant herein filed refund claim of SAD as per the notification No.102/2007-Cus. dt. 14.9.2007. On 1.7.2016, the refund was granted. Later on 7.9.2017, the present SCN has been issued proposing to recover a portion of the sanctioned refund alleging that appellant is not the owner/importer of the goods and that therefore the condition stipulated in the notification has not been complied. 2.2 He adverted to the conditions of Notfn.102/2007-cus. dt. 14.09.2007. As per clause 2 (c) of the notification, the importer‟ has to file claim for refund of SAD. He adverted to Section 2 (26) of the Customs Act, 1962 which defines the term importer . Prior to 2017, the definition reads as under : (26) importer , in relation to any goods at any time between their importation and the time when they are cleared for home consumption, includes any owner, or any person holding himself out to be the importer; 2.3 On plain reading of the above, it is clear that the definition of importer is an inclusive definition and that importer includes any person holding them .....

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..... home consumption, also it is submitted that because of non-availability of IEC the Appellant couldn‟t clear the goods on its own by filing fresh bond and payment of duty. Nevertheless, the Appellant still continued to hold the status of importer and rightful owner of goods in the bonded warehouse. 2.9 It is also submitted by him that Doosan Infracore India Pvt.Ltd. did not file any claim for refund of SAD paid on the transaction. In the impugned order, it is observed that only the importer is entitled to claim SAD refund. From the definition itself, it is clear that the appellant is the importer. Merely because the Bill of Entry does not bear the name of the appellant, it cannot be said that the appellant is not the importer of impugned goods. Ld. Counsel also produced copy of slump sale agreement. In the said agreement definition of acquired assets‟ states that it includes refund of special additional customs duty. He prayed that the appeal may be allowed. 3. Ld. A.R Ms. T.Usha Devi supported the findings in the impugned order. She submitted that appellant has used IEC code of Doosan Infracore India Pvt.Ltd. to clear the goods. They have later filed refund claim .....

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..... mported goods. 6. It can be seen that it is for the importer to file refund claim. The definition of importer as it stood prior to 2017 has been referred to by Ld. Counsel for appellant. From the definition, it can be seen that it is an inclusive definition wherein the importer includes any owner or person holding himself out to be the importer. The appellant has entered into slump sale agreement with Doosan Infracore India Pvt.Ltd. on 1.4.2015 for sale of Excavator Division. The definition of Acquired Assets‟ as per Section 1 of the said agreement, is as under : Acquired assets means all of the assets, properties and rights of Seller owned or used by Seller in connection with the Business, as such assets, properties and rights exist at the Closing, including without limitation: (i) cash and cash equivalents in an amount to be determined by the parties, (ii) accounts or notes receivable of the Business, (iii) Personal Property, (iv) the Assumed Contracts, (v) the Assumed licenses, (vi) Computer Software and Databases, (vii) all documents, books and records related to the Acquired Assets, (viii) all third party warranties and guarantee with respect to any of the Ac .....

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