Provisional assessment for levy sugar applies when final character depends on a later release order, making excess duty refundable.

Where the final character of levy sugar depended on a later statutory release order, duty paid before that event was treated as provisional in substance and had to be finalised under Rule 9B, with excess duty refundable on final assessment. The special-date refund rule in Section 11B(5)(B)(ea) did not apply because it operates only where goods are exempt under a special order issued under Section 5A(2); release orders under the Essential Commodities Act were not such orders. The document states that this construction aligned the refund with the levy sugar duty scheme.

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Issues: (i) Whether the refund claim was governed by the special-date rule in Section 11B(5)(B)(ea) of the Central Excise Act, 1944. (ii) Whether the duty originally paid on sugar removed before release orders could be treated as a provisional assessment requiring finalisation and refund of the excess duty.

Issue (i): Whether the refund claim was governed by the special-date rule in Section 11B(5)(B)(ea) of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Analysis: The special-date rule applies only where goods are exempt from duty by a special order issued under Section 5A(2) of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The case concerned levy sugar covered by exemption notifications and release orders issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, not a special order under Section 5A(2). The release orders could not be treated as the statutory special order contemplated by the refund provision.

Conclusion: The provision did not apply, and the claim was not to be tested on the basis of the date of the State Government release order.

Issue (ii): Whether the duty originally paid on sugar removed before release orders could be treated as a provisional assessment requiring finalisation and refund of the excess duty.

Analysis: The applicable tariff classification depended on whether the sugar was required to be sold as levy sugar under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Until the release orders were issued, the real character of the goods was not known, so the initial duty payment was made before the final classification could be determined. In that situation, the payment was treated as provisional in substance, and finalisation had to follow the scheme of Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944. On finalisation, excess duty paid on levy sugar was refundable. This construction also gave effect to the tariff scheme and the principle that levy sugar is to bear only the duty applicable to levy sugar.

Conclusion: The original payment was provisional, the assessments had to be finalised accordingly, and the excess duty was refundable to the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded because the excess duty on levy sugar had to be worked out on final assessment under the provisional assessment framework, and the refund was therefore admissible.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the final character of goods depends on a later statutory release order, duty paid before that event is provisional in nature and must be adjusted on finalisation under Rule 9B; the special-date refund rule in Section 11B(5)(B)(ea) applies only to special orders issued under Section 5A(2).

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