Final classification under Rule 173B bars indirect refund claims after assessment becomes final.

An approved and unchallenged classification list under Rule 173B operates as a quasi-judicial determination of classification before assessment, and that determination cannot be reopened indirectly through a refund claim. Where assessment has become final on the basis of such approval, an assessee seeking a different classification must challenge the classification order directly by appeal. A later approval of another classification list does not undo the earlier final assessment for the relevant period, so the refund claim was not maintainable and the refund direction could not stand.

---

---

Issues: Whether duty paid under an approved and unchallenged classification list could be recovered by way of refund on the ground that the goods were later claimed to be classifiable under a different heading.

Analysis: A classification list finally approved under Rule 173B operates as a quasi-judicial determination of classification before assessment. Such a determination cannot be reopened or reviewed indirectly through a refund claim once the assessment based on it has become final. If an assessee disputes the classification, the proper course is to challenge the classification order directly by appeal. A later approval of a different classification list would not undo the earlier final assessment for the relevant period.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not maintainable against the earlier approved classification, and the order directing refund could not stand.

---