CESTAT Bangalore Allows Refund to Nokia India

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Bangalore Bench has delivered a major win for M/s. Nokia India Sales Pvt. Ltd., allowing refunds of excess Countervailing Duty (CVD) paid on mobile phone imports and rejecting objections raised by Customs on the grounds of unjust enrichment and time-bar under Section 27 of the Customs Act.

Case Snapshot

Importer: Nokia India Sales Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon
Goods: Mobile phones under CTH 85171290
Period: October 2014 to June 2015
Refund Claims: Based on the Supreme Court ruling in SRF Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs (2015) holding such imports eligible for concessional duty under Notification No. 12/2012-CE
Issue: Refunds rejected on grounds that:
- Bills of Entry were not appealed
- Burden of duty was allegedly passed on (unjust enrichment)
- Certain claims were beyond the one-year statutory time limit

CESTAT’s Key Findings

1. Refunds Maintainable Without Challenging Bills of Entry

The Tribunal reaffirmed that refund claims were rightly filed without contesting the self-assessed Bills of Entry. Since the Revenue did not appeal the Commissioner (Appeals)’ favorable finding on this issue, it attained finality.

2. Unjust Enrichment Not Proven

Nokia submitted Chartered Accountant certificates confirming that duty burden was not passed on to customers.
The same certificates were accepted by CESTAT in Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad in identical refund cases involving Nokia.
The Tribunal held that no corroborative evidence was required beyond the accepted CA certificate in such cases.

3. Limitation Computed Properly

Refund claims were filed exactly one year after duty payment.
As per Section 12 of the Limitation Act and Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, the date of duty payment is excluded in computing limitation.
Thus, the claims were within the statutory time frame under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Final Order

The Tribunal set aside all refund rejections.
Appeals were allowed with consequential reliefs.
Directions issued for Customs to process refunds accordingly.

Legal Impact

This judgment clarifies and reinforces that:

Refunds can be claimed without challenging self-assessed Bills of Entry, if not appealed by the Department.
Unjust enrichment must be proven, and if CA certification is uncontroverted, refunds cannot be denied.
Timely refund claims must account for statutory exclusions when calculating limitation.

Why This Matters for Importers

Strengthens jurisprudence on refund eligibility post SRF Ltd. ruling
Protects businesses from arbitrary denial based on procedural delays or technicalities
Helps large-scale importers like electronics firms ensure recovery of wrongly paid duties

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Source: CESTAT Bangalore

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