Decent Laminates and Plywood Pvt. Ltd imported resin impregnated paper and plywood for the purpose of manufacture of furniture. The goods so imported were warehoused at Mumbai Port from the date of their import in the mo

Remission can be granted under Section 23 only when the imported goods have been lost or destroyed at any time before clearance for home consumption. The expression "at any time before clearance for home consumption" as provided in section 23 means the time period originally fixed and extended period available for warehousing and not after the lapse of such periods. The said expression (at any time before clearance for home consumption) cannot be extended to a period after the lapse of the extended period merely because the goods were not cleared within the stipulated time. It would be a case of goods improperly removed from the warehouse. The facts of the given case are similar to the case of CCEx. vs. Decorative Laminates (I) Pvt. Ltd. [2010] 257 ELT 61 (Ker.). The High Court held that the circumstances made out under section 23 were not applicable in the instant case as the destruction/ loss of the goods had not occurred before the clearance for home consumption. Hence, the application for remission of duty filed by Decent Laminates and Plywood Pvt. Ltd is not valid in law.