The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai bench has held that the refund claim made before a wrong forum cannot be rejected by treating the same as time-barred by invoking section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944.
The appellant, M/s. Hivelm Industries, had supplied isolators and spares to DVC Koderma Thermal Power Project State 1 owned by M/s. Damodar Valley Corporation through the main contractor namely, M/s. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. Notably, deemed exports were exempted from payment of duty vide Notification No. 06/2006 dated 01.03.2006, as amended.
The appellant, however, made the payment since its name did not figure in the project certificate issued by M/s. DVC and because of that, they filed an application for refund before the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Chennai vide application dated 13.12.2011, which was rejected by the DGFT. The appellant filed an appeal against the above rejection, before the DGFT, New Delhi and the appellant also filed a refund claim on 17.07.2014 before the Excise authorities.
Mr. P. Dinesha, Member (Judicial) observed that “It is not in dispute that the deemed export did not attract any Excise Duty and hence, it is not the duty of the appellant / taxpayer to repeatedly plead before the authorities that the project in which it was involved was a deemed export. Moreover, the fact that the appellant filed its refund claim immediately, though before a wrong forum, itself proves the bona fides of the appellant and hence, the same establishes the fact that there was an application for refund claim within the limitation period prescribed in the statute, though before a wrong forum.”
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