TCThirumalai Chemicals500412Tax or GST

Customs audit observation seeks Rs. 24.52 lakhs RoDTEP payment; company to respond

Customs audit observation on shipping bills shared by the company.

By ScoutQuest · Fri 23 Oct 2026, 9:35 AM IST · 2 min read

RoDTEP benefit demand

Rs. 24.52 lakhs

Interest and penalty

To be calculated

Scheme involved

DFIA (Duty Free Import Authorization) Scheme

What happened

• The company received a communication of audit observation on the shipping bills shared by it, from the Assistant Commissioner, Office of Commissioner of Customs Audit, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, under Section 99A of the Customs Act, 1962 read with the Customs Audit Regulations, 2018, on October 21, 2026.
• The observation relates to exports made under the DFIA (Duty Free Import Authorization) Scheme and alleges that the RoDTEP benefits availed on those shipping bills were ineligible.

What the authority seeks

• Payment of RoDTEP benefits availed amounting to Rs. 24.52 lakhs, along with interest and penalty.
• In the annexure, tax is shown at Rs. 24.52 lakhs, while interest and penalty are shown as "To be calculated"; the total shown against the entry is Rs. 24.52 lakhs.

Company's stated position

• The company says it will submit its response to the communication before the authority within the prescribed timelines.
• It says, prima facie, the demands are erroneous and not sustainable because the benefits under RoDTEP were auto-filled while update the shipping bills through the customs portal.
• It firmly believes that the financial implication, if any, arising out of this is likely to be very insignificant and will not have any material impact on the financial position of the company.

Terms explained

• RoDTEP is a government scheme that refunds certain taxes and duties borne on goods that are exported.
• DFIA (Duty Free Import Authorization) is a scheme that allows an exporter to import inputs without paying duty, linked to exports.
• A shipping bill is the document shared with customs for exporting goods.
• The audit here was carried out under Section 99A of the Customs Act, 1962 read with the Customs Audit Regulations, 2018.

What to watch

• This is a communication of audit observations seeking payment, and the company has said it will contest it; the outcome of its response will decide whether any amount actually becomes payable.
• The figure stated is Rs. 24.52 lakhs; interest and penalty are yet to be calculated, so the eventual amount, if any, can differ from this figure.

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