Unjust enrichment applies to excise duty refunds under Section 11B even when duty was paid under protest.

Payment of excise duty under protest removes the limitation bar for a refund claim, but it does not waive the statutory requirement of unjust enrichment under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944. A claimant must still prove that the duty burden was not passed on to another person, and a refund claim in substance seeking duty repayment remains subject to that condition. The exception noted for refunds arising from finalisation of provisional assessment under Rule 9B, or from a non-duty deposit, did not apply because the record showed neither basis. The plea that unjust enrichment was inapplicable was therefore rejected, and the refund could not be allowed on that ground.

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Issues: Whether a refund claim under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is exempt from the doctrine of unjust enrichment merely because the duty was paid under protest, and whether such exclusion applies only where the refund arises from finalisation of provisional assessment under Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944.

Analysis: Section 11B contains two distinct requirements, namely limitation and unjust enrichment. Payment of duty under protest removes the bar of limitation for claiming refund, but it does not dispense with the requirement that the claimant establish that the burden of duty was not passed on to another person. A refund claim that is in substance a claim for duty refund must therefore satisfy the express conditions of Section 11B. The decisions relied upon by the respondent were distinguished on the ground that they concerned refunds arising from finalisation of provisional assessment or deposits that were not duty. In the present matter, there was no evidence that the refund arose from finalisation of assessment under Rule 9B or from a revenue deposit.

Conclusion: The plea that the unjust enrichment condition under Section 11B was inapplicable was rejected, and the refund claim could not be allowed on that basis.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund of excise duty claimed under Section 11B remains subject to the doctrine of unjust enrichment even when the duty was paid under protest, unless the claim is one arising from finalisation of provisional assessment or from a non-duty deposit.

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