CUSTOMS, EXCISE & SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL MUMBAI REGIONAL BENCH CUSTOMS APPEAL NO. 85981 OF 2021 [Arising out of Order-in-Appeal No. 214(CRC-I) 2021/JNCH/Appeals dated

22.03.2021 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (NS-III) Raigad].

PNP POLYTEX PVT LTD Appellant A-601-607 Mangal Arambh Building, Kora Kendra, Borivali West, Mumbai-400092.

VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, NHAVA SHEVA-III Respondent Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House, Nhava Sheva, Dist-Raigad, Maharashtra-400707.

APPERANCE Ms. Neha Anchlia, Advocate for the Appellant Shri L.B.D’Coasta, Dy. Commissioner, Authorised Representative for the Respondent CORAM:

HON’BLE DR. SUVENDU KUMAR PATI, MEMBER (JUDICIAL)

FINAL ORDER NO. A/85649/2026 Date of Hearing: 16.04.2026 Date of Decision: 08.05.2026 Grant of interest from 10.03.2018 on refund received earlier, in respect of seventeen refund applications filed in the year 2004, for GSI being inadvertently paid by the appellant at the time of clearance of goods and its confirmation by the Commissioner (Appeals) is assailed before this Tribunal, as appellant claims to have been entitled to get interest from three months after filing of refund applications in June 2004.

2. Factual backdrop of this case dates back to 2003 when appellant filed seventeen Bills of Entry for clearance of its imported PVC quoted cloth, that was being cleared upon payment of basic customs duty @ 25% plus CVD @ 16% plus GSI (*Additional duties of excise on goods of special importance) @ 5% plus SAD @ 0% with applicable cess and as they came to know that in terms of Notification NO. 7/2003-CE dated 01.03.2003, such GSI duty @ 5% was not leviable, appellant importer filed appeals before the Commissioner (Appeals) against assessment of seventeen Bills of Entry that was decided in appellant’s favour on 31.03.2004 vide Order No. A 49/2004 (JNCH), Mumbai. Appellant was also granted consequential relief by the Commissioner (Appeals) who allowed their appeals. Department filed Review petition against the said assessment for not including SAD but it was rejected by the Commissioner of Customs on dated 16.06.2005 on the ground that Department had not initiated any action under Section 28 of the Customs Act nor filed any appeal under Section 128 of the Customs Act against the said assessment order. Accordingly, appellant filed seventeen Refund Applications for Rs. 48.28 Lakhs before the Refund Sanctioning Authority in 2004 within the stipulated time period of one year and received acknowledgments from Group-3 Wing of the Respondent. Appellant did wait for the refund and pursue the matter through every modes of communication and was informed that after the applications were traced out and processed, it would be sent to the Refund Section, as reveals from letters dated 21.02.2007. They then filed all duplicate Refund applications with covering letter dated 21.09.2007 but ultimately received a request letter from the Commissioner on dated 20.06.2008 asking them to submit Refund Application in proper form alongwith original documents as no original copy of Refund application was filed before the Department (copy at page-81 of the Appeal Memo). Appellant then requested them that they had submitted Refund Applications twice and requested the Commissioner to internally transfer the same to the concerned Cell. On 21.05.2009, they received a Deficiency Memo having reference of another deficiency memo stated to have been issued on 21.02.2009 that could not be complied as deficiency memo contained instructions to produce re-assessment of Bills of Entry etc., which were initiated by the Revenue at their end and not by the appellant. After lapse of three years, again another Deficiency Memo dated 26.12.2012 was issued that was complied with upon production of all documents on dated 18.02.2013 including C.A. Certificate after which appellant followed up on several occasions for grant of refund with interest by writing letters (dated 19.12.2015 to the Commissioner and to the Chief