HC seeks Customs reply on IndiGo duty refund plea

NEW DELHI: Delhi HC on Friday sought a response from Customs department on a plea filed by InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo airline, seeking a refund of over Rs 900 crore paid as Customs duty on aircraft engines and parts re-imported into India after overseas repairs, reports Abhinav Garg.A bench of Justices V Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar issued notice to deputy commissioner (refund) and directed the authorities to file their response within two weeks. The court listed the matter for hearing in April next year.InterGlobe contended that the levy of Customs duty on such re-imports was unconstitutional and amounted to a double levy on the same transaction.Opposing the petition, the counsel for Customs department submitted that it was premature, noting that the issue on which the present claim is based is pending before the Supreme Court.However, counsel for the airline argued that at the time of re-import of aircraft engines and parts after repairs, the company paid basic Customs duty without any dispute. The counsel contended that since the repairs constituted a service, the airline also paid GST on a reverse charge basis. Despite this, Customs authorities insisted on levying duty again by treating the same transaction as an import of goods, the counsel claimed.