Finality of refund adjudication bars fresh recovery notice for the same excise duty amount after Supreme Court dismissal.

Recovery proceedings based on a fresh show cause notice for the same excise duty refund were unsustainable once the refund had been sanctioned on a final finding that the duty incidence had not been passed on, and the Supreme Court had dismissed the Revenue's appeal against that finding. The Department could not reopen or relitigate an issue that had attained finality through the earlier order and Supreme Court dismissal. The impugned recovery order was therefore set aside.

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Issues: Whether recovery proceedings initiated by a fresh show cause notice for the refunded excise duty amount were sustainable after the Supreme Court had dismissed the Revenue's appeal against the earlier refund order.

Analysis: The refund had been sanctioned pursuant to the Tribunal's earlier final order, which accepted the concurrent finding that the incidence of excise duty had not been passed on to any other person. That finding was carried in appeal to the Supreme Court, which dismissed the Revenue's appeals and declined interference. Once the issue stood finally settled by the Supreme Court, the Department could not reopen the same matter by issuing a fresh notice for recovery of the very same refund amount.

Conclusion: The recovery proceedings were not sustainable and were set aside.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the impugned order confirming recovery was set aside.

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