Payment under protest in excise refund claims keeps Section 11B limitation from applying where liability is under challenge.

Duty deposited while an assessee is contesting liability in appeal, revision or other higher proceedings is treated as payment under protest. On that basis, the six-month limitation for refund claims under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 does not apply. The article notes that the underlying classification dispute had already been decided in the assessee's favour, so the refund claim was not time-barred and remained admissible.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim of duty paid pending appeal was barred by limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944, or was admissible as a payment made under protest.

Analysis: The amount had been deposited pending the assessee's appeal and the underlying classification issue had already been decided in the assessee's favour. The reasoning accepted that where duty is paid while contesting liability in appeal, revision or higher proceedings, such payment is to be treated as made under protest. On that footing, the six-month limitation prescribed for filing a refund claim under Section 11B did not apply.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not time-barred and was admissible to the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: A duty deposit made during the pendency of a challenge to liability, classification or rate is treated as payment under protest, and therefore the limitation period under Section 11B does not govern the refund claim.

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