ZANDU CHEMICALS LTD. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Respondents waive service. By consent, Rule made returnable forthwith. By this Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioner seeks a writ of Certiorari or any writ order or direction in nature thereof, calling for the papers and records and thereafter to quash and set aside the order dated 16th August, 2011 (Annexure-H to the Writ Petition) [2013 (297) E.L.T. 154 (G.O.I.)].

(2.) The further relief is seeking a direction to the respondents to grant a rebate claim made by the petitioners by rebate application dated 7th November, 2006 in the sum of Rs. 10,70,353/-.

(3.) The undisputed facts are that the petitioner company, inter alia, is engaged in the manufacture and export of chemicals which are falling under Chapter 29 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. The petitioners had exported a consignment of medicaments under cover of ARE-1 No. 57/2005-06, dated 29th October, 2005, on payment of the Central Excise Duty amounting to Rs. 10,70,353/- under Central Excise Invoice No. 57, dated 29th October, 2005. The petitioners filed an application claiming rebate of the Central Excise Duty paid on the exported goods. It was the case of the petitioners that when they lodged their claim for refund, they intimated the department that they have lost/misplaced the original and duplicate copy of ARE-1. Since that was misplaced, the same could not be filed with the rebate claim. However, collateral/contemporaneous documents to support the rebate claim, were forwarded. The complaint is that the requisite proof of export was on record, still the rebate claim has been rejected. The petitioners pointed out that they received a show cause notice and which has been styled as a deficiency memo cum show cause notice proposing rejection of the rebate claim on the alleged ground that the petitioners failed to submit original and duplicate copies of ARE-1. The reply was given to this show cause notice but eventually the petitioners were served with the order of rejection styled as Order-In-Original dated 3rd June, 2008. An Appeal was preferred before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) who allowed it by his order dated 14th September, 2009. The department did not accept that order at Annexure-E and filed the revision application at Annexure-F before the Revisional Authority under Section 35EE of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Government of India is the revisional authority and it allowed the revision application thereby reversing the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).