ORDER
1. No one appeared for the appellant when the case was called for hearing today. Shri M. Chatterjee appeared for the Department. The Bench decided to proceed with the case on merits and heard Shri Chatterjee.
2. Shri Chatterjee pointed out that in this case the appellant was claiming refund of countervailing duty but the appellant had not filed any refund application under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 and, as pointed out by the Appellate Collector, there was no finding regarding the levy of countervailing duty in the Order-in-Original which had been challenged before the Appellate Collector. The Appellate Collector was, therefore, correct, argued Shri Chatterjee, in asking the appellants to obtain a speaking order from the Original Authority first on the issue of countervailing duty and to revive their appeal thereon.
3. We have carefully considered the matter. It is a statutory requirement under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 that for claiming refund of any customs duty collected, the assessee should file a specific refund application to the Assistant Collector within the prescribed time-limit. No such refund application was filed in this case. The appellants have admitted as much in their written memorandum of appeal when they state that their claim for refund was ‘implied’ when the Appellate Collector accepted their contention that the goods were not weld metal electrodes. The Order-in-Original was confined to the matter of Import Trade Control violation and there was nothing in the said order relating to the matter of assessment of countervailing duty. In the circumstances, we find no reason to interfere with the impugned Order-in-Appeal.
4. Accordingly, we reject the appeal.