The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) observed that Iron Ore Fines are exempted from payment of Customs Duty.
The appellant pursues an appeal against the contested order that dismissed their refund claim.
The appellant contests a denial of their refund claim in the legal dispute.
The case involves a contract with overseas buyer M/s S.K.Resources Ltd. for the export of 63,200 MT of Iron Ore Fines. Despite provisional assessment on 06.12.2008, a subsequent exemption on 07.12.2008 exempted Iron Ore Fines from export duty, prompting the refund claim.
The Appellant counsel Mr. K.k. Acharya submitted that although the export order specifies the date as 06.12.2008, there are suspicions of fabrication. The argument further contended that considering the timeline, no export order can be issued before 08.12.2008.
Importantly, it is emphasized that on the mentioned date, i.e., 08.12.2008, no duty was applicable to the export of Iron Ore Fines. Therefore, the appellant asserts their entitlement to a refund claim.
The department representative S.Debnath supported the adjudication order, pointing to discrepancies in the export order’s date on the Shipping Bill. Notably, the inspection revealed a differential cess debited on 08.12.2008, raising concerns about the authenticity of the earlier date. This adds complexity to the case, prompting a thorough investigation into document reliability and deepening the intrigue in the ongoing legal discourse.
The two member bench of the Tribunal comprising Ashok Jindal (Judicial Member) and Rajeev Tendan (Technical Member) concluded that iron ore fines were exempted from payment of duty vide Notification No.129/08 dated 07.12.2008, no duty was payable on 08.12.2008, therefore, the appellant was not liable to pay duty. Accordingly, the appellant is entitled for the refund claim of the duty paid.
Considering the presented facts, the CESTAT Bench set aside the impugned order and allow the appeal with consequential relief.
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