Delhi HC Orders Refund of Excess Customs Duty to Nokia; CA Certificate Enough to Prove No Unjust Enrichment:

Delhi HC Orders Refund of Excess Customs Duty to Nokia; CA Certificate Enough to Prove No Unjust Enrichment This current case involves two appeals filed in the Delhi High Court by the Principal Commissioner of Customs (petitioner) against Nokia India Sales Pvt. Ltd. (respondent), regarding refunds of customs duty. The petitioner here is challenging an order dated October 15, 2024, passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (in Customs Appeal Nos. 50113/2020 and 50202/2020). On March 17, 2012, the Government of India issued Notification No. 12/2012-CE, which allowed exemption from excise duty to certain goods. However, later this notification was amended via Notification No. 4/2014-CE dated February 17, 2014 and Notification No. 12/2015-CE dated March 01, 2025. According to this amendment, mobile phones were allowed 1% excise duty; however, only if the manufacturer did not take CENVAT credit on inputs and capital goods.

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Nokia India imported mobile phones during 2014-2015. It paid 6% customs duty on these phones up to February 2015. Later, based on a Supreme Court judgement titled SRF Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs, 2015, Nokia believed it had overpaid customs duty and was eligible for a refund. Therefore, filed for a refund of Rs. 2.33 crore in CUSAA 66/2025 and Rs. 3.43 crore in CUSAA 79/2025. The company also submitted CA's certificate and some documents to prove that this excess duty was not passed on to its consumers, meaning Nokia was eligible to claim the refund and not the government. However, the tax department did not approve the company's claim and said the company did not provide enough proof (like ledger accounts) to show that it had not passed the tax burden to customers. On this, the company argued that it had submitted all necessary documents, ledger accounts included. The Adjudicating Authority, vide Order-in-Original dated January 23, 2017, sanctioned the refund claim of Rs. 3,43,88,087; however, instead of giving the amount to the company, it credited the amount to the Consumer Welfare Fund in terms of Section 27(2) of the Customs Act, 1962.

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The company discovered it was unfair and hence raised an appeal to the Tribunal; however, it dismissed its appeal on September 05, 2019. The company then approached the CESTAT, where it ruled in favour of the company, saying the CA certificate was valid and acceptable. Hence, the refund amounts must be paid to Nokia and not to the Consumer Welfare Fund. On this decision, the Customs Department filed two fresh appeals in the Delhi High Court against the Company. The High Court analysed the complete case and previous ruling related to the case and also cited earlier judgements supporting their position, including Commissioner of Customs v. Adyar Gate Hotel Ltd. and Principal Commissioner v. Telecare Network (India) Pvt. Ltd. Then, in its final ruling, the Delhi High Court upheld CESTAT’s decision. It ordered that the refund amounts (₹2.33 crore and ₹3.43 crore) with interest be paid to Nokia within 2 months. Nokia, on its part, voluntarily agreed to contribute Rs. 25 lakhs to the Consumer Welfare Fund and Rs. 10 lakhs to the Delhi High Court Bar Association. The matter was listed to check if the payments were made on November 10, 2025.