In Brief
The Supreme Court resolved disputes over Terminal Excise Duty (TED) refunds involving Export Oriented Units (EOUs) and Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) suppliers under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2009-2014. The Court held that EOUs are entitled only to ab initio exemption from Central Excise Duty on goods procured from DTA suppliers and cannot claim TED refund independently. However, DTA suppliers are entitled to claim TED refund for goods supplied to EOUs as deemed exports under the FTP, subject to compliance with specified conditions. The refund modality depends on payment method: if paid via CENVAT credit, the refund is reversed to the credit account; if paid in cash, refund is made with 6% per annum simple interest. The refund authority must be the FTP-implementing agency, not excise authorities. The Court affirmed prior High Court decisions favoring suppliers and partly allowed the EOUs' appeals while partly allowing the Department's appeals.
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