Order Date – 28 July 2022

Facts – 

• The Appellant, Vedanta Ltd., had filed 12 Shipping Bills for exportation of Iron Ore Fines and Iron (Fe) content was declared at more than 62%. The Revenue assessed duty at Rs.300/- per MT as was leviable.
• The appellant requested the Adjudicating Authority for rectification of the error, the Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Exports) vide letter dated 04.06.2010 intimated the appellant that there was no clerical or arithmetical error in the assessment of the Shipping Bills and hence, the request of the appellant was not covered under Section 154 of the Customs Act, 1962.
• Aggrieved the appeal had been filed.

Issue – 

• Whether the rejection of the rectification application by the Assistant Commissioner was in order?

Order – 

• The Tribunal observed that it emerges that the rejection of the rectification application passed by the Assistant Commissioner is not in order. They relied on the decision of the Apex Court in the case of Union of India v. Gangadhar Narsingdas Aggarwal in which it was held that the Fe content is required to be determined on the basis of the exported weight of Iron Ore Fines which would include the weight of the moisture in it but the adjudicating authorities had determined the Fe content on dry wet basis.
• And it is the settled position of law that not following the order of the Hon’ble High Court or Apex Court would amount to mistake/error which is rectifiable u/s 154.
• Also, the claim by the appellant was accepted by the Tribunal that the provisional assessments have remained as provisional only, which are required to be assessed finally. 
• Therefore, the impugned order has to be set aside with a direction to the lower authority to finalize the assessments adhering to the guidelines of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Gangadhar Narsingdas Aggarwal (supra).