Self Assessment in Customs - Priya Blue Effect?
SELF Assessment has been introduced in the Customs Act by Finance Act 2011 and the ‘On-Site Post Clearance Audit' is now a reality. Now what will happen to refunds and demands. How does the Department or an importer/exporter challenge the self assessment?
A concerned netizen writes to us:
“The Department had been rejecting all refund claims if made without challenging the orders of assessment – Bill of Entry, relying on the decisions of the Supreme Court in Collector of Central Excise, Kanpur vs Flock (India) Pvt Ltd – and Priya Blue Industries Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Customs (Prev) -
In the Flock case, a refund was applied for without challenging the approved classification, while in the Priya Blue case, Flock was followed and it was held that as long as the assessment order was not set aside, duty was payable as per that order and such an order obviously could not be set aside by a refund claim. CBEC happily lapped up the decisions because they were in favor of revenue. Refunds got rejected even when the Department's computers made mistakes in calculating the duty!
Now, in the self-assessment scenario, what will happen to Flock and Priya Blue ? Are they still applicable and if, so how can one go about applying them?”