Dr. S. Muralidhar, J. - (1.) A common question that arises in these writ petitions by Allen Diesels India Pvt. Ltd. is whether, in the garb of circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs ('CBEC') New Delhi, the benefit granted under a notification issued in terms of Sec. 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 ('Act') can be modified or amended.
(2.) The factual matrix in which the question arises is that under the Notification No. dated 14th September 2007 issued in exercise of the powers of the Central Government under Sec. 25 (1) of the Act, the additional duty of customs, known as Special Additional Duty ('sAD'), under Sec. 3(5) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 was exempted if the goods imported were meant for subsequent sale. If the SAD was already paid, the notification allowed exemption by way of refund. Para 2 of the notification specified the following conditions that were required to be fulfilled for availing the exemption: "(a) the importer of the said goods shall pay all duties, including the said additional duty of customs leviable thereon, as applicable, at the time of importation of the goods; (b) the importer, while issuing the invoice for sale of the said goods, shall specifically indicate in the invoice that in respect of the goods covered therein, no credit of the additional duty of customs levied under sub -section (5) of Sec. 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 shall be admissible; (c) the importer shall file a claim for refund of the said additional duty of customs paid on the imported goods with the jurisdictional customs officer before the expiry of one year from the date of payment of the said additional duty of customs. (d) the importer shall pay on sale of the said goods, appropriate sales tax or value added tax, as the case may be; (e) the importer shall, inter alia, provide copies of the following documents along with the refund claim; (i) document evidencing payment of the said additional duty; (ii) invoices of sale of the imported goods in respect of which refund of the said additional duty is claimed; (iii) documents evidencing payment of appropriate sales tax or value added tax, as the case may be, by the importer, on sale of such imported goods."
(3.) The notification stated that the jurisdictional customs officer shall sanction the refund on satisfying himself that the conditions referred to in para 2 above are fulfilled.;