In Brief
The Supreme Court held that a refund of customs duty cannot be claimed under Section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 unless the underlying assessment or self-assessment order is first modified through proper appellate procedures. Self-assessment is an order of assessment and is appealable. The refund mechanism operates as execution proceedings, not as an appellate remedy. An assessment attains finality when not appealed and cannot be questioned later through a refund application. The deletion of 'in pursuance of an order of assessment' from amended Section 27 was merely consequential to introducing self-assessment but did not alter this substantive requirement.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.