Rejecting Application for Amendment of Bills of Entry on Payment of IGST except where Interest not Paid cannot be Countenanced: Kerala HC [Read Order]
Rejecting application for amendment of bills of entry on payment of IGST except where interest not paid cannot be countenanced, rules Kerala HC
Rejecting Application – Amendment of Bills of Entry on Payment of IGST excep – Interest – Paid – Countenanced – Kerala HC – TAXSCAN
Rejecting Application – Amendment of Bills of Entry on Payment of IGST excep – Interest – Paid – Countenanced – Kerala HC – TAXSCAN
A Single Bench of the Kerala High Court ruled that rejecting application for amendment of Bills of Entry on payment of integrated goods and service tax (IGST) where the interest is not paid cannot be countenanced.
The 4th respondent passed the impugned order, stating that an amendment to the bills of entry for including payment of IGST at the time of import would not be possible. In Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962, it has been expressly laid down that no amendment of a Bill of Entry shall be authorised after the imported goods have been cleared for home consumption except on the basis of documentary evidence which was in existence at the time the goods were cleared.
The Senior Counsel invited attention of the Court saying that the stand of the 4th respondent that no amendment in the Bill of Entry under Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 is possible is contrary to their own stand. It is submitted that the 4th respondent had permitted similarly placed exporters to amend the Bill of Entry and issued Amendment Certificate issued to M/s Tufko International and Amendment Certificate dated 20th May 2022 issued to M/s Specta Décor Pvt. Ltd.
The Court of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh observed that “The Commissioner of Customs vide order dated 4th March 2022 directed the petitioners to deposit the IGST along with interest for all the Bills of Entry for which erroneous refund was availed under Rule 96(10) of the CGST Rules, 2017 and submitted the report after making payments. Out of the 12 entities who were directed to remit the amount of IGST along with interest, in the case of two entities, the Bills of Entry have been amended. However in the case of the petitioners, amendment to the Bills of Entry have been refused. There is no explanation coming forth from the respondents for choosing a few to allow them to amend the bills of entries and denying the same relief to others.”
“The stand of the respondents that the Bills of entry cannot be allowed to be amended as the petitioners have not paid the IGST at the time of clearance of the imported goods and as a Bill of entry can be amended only on the basis of the documents available at the time of clearance of the goods, does not hold a valid ground for rejecting amendment of the Bill of Entry. Rejecting application for amendment of the Bills of Entry despite payment of IGST and interest except where the interest has not been paid cannot be countenanced” the Tribunal noted.
To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE
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