High Court Directs Refund of Excess Customs Duty on Crude Soybean Oil Under TRQ:

The petitioner is M/s Pitamber Solvex Pvt. Ltd. who approached the Gujarat High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking quashing of the letter dated 06/02/2026 issued by the respondent authorities rejecting its request for refund of excess customs duty paid on the import of crude soybean oil under Bill of Entry No. 5592705 dated 20/04/2023. The refund had been sought pursuant to the petitioner’s representation dated 20/01/2026.

The petitioner submitted that the issue was no longer res integra and had already been decided in its favour by the Delhi High Court in M/s Pitamber Solvex Private Limited VS Union of India & Others, Writ Petition No. 10508 of 2023. In that case, the Delhi High Court had allowed the petitioner’s claim for refund of excess duty paid on the same product for the relevant period.

The Gujarat High Court noted that the DGFT had initially issued a Public Notice dated 24/05/2022 allocating TRQ for import of crude soybean oil and crude sunflower seed oil. Subsequently, the DGFT issued a Public Notice dated 11/01/2023 discontinuing the TRQ for crude soybean oil from 01/04/2023, while permitting imports covered by Bills of Lading dated on or before 31/03/2023 to be made under the TRQ up to 30/06/2023.

The Gujarat High Court observed that the petitioner’s case was squarely covered by the Delhi High Court’s judgment in the petitioner’s own case. As the respondents were unable to dispute the settled legal position, the Gujarat High Court held that the impugned letter dated 06/02/2026 could not be sustained. Accordingly, the Court quashed and set aside the letter and allowed the writ petition.