Rule 56A excise benefit cannot be denied for no prior claim, but Collector condonation must precede final adjudication.

A statutory excise credit or refund under Rule 56A could not be refused merely because it was not claimed earlier in the classification list, since eligibility to the benefit was not dependent solely on an express prior claim in assessment documents. However, where Rule 56A(2B) required condonation of delay by the Collector, that statutory prerequisite had to be considered first, and final adjudication before that stage was premature. The order denying relief was therefore set aside and the matter remitted for reconsideration after completion of the Rule 56A(2B) process.

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Issues: (i) Whether credit or refund linked to Rule 56A could be denied for want of an earlier claim in the classification list. (ii) Whether the claim could be finally decided without the Collector's prior consideration of condonation under Rule 56A(2B).

Issue (i): Whether credit or refund linked to Rule 56A could be denied for want of an earlier claim in the classification list.

Analysis: The relief was treated as a statutory benefit and not as one dependent solely on being claimed in the assessment documents. Once eligibility otherwise existed, the assessing authority could not refuse the benefit merely because it had not been expressly sought earlier.

Conclusion: The omission to claim the benefit in the classification list was not, by itself, a valid ground to deny relief.

Issue (ii): Whether the claim could be finally decided without the Collector's prior consideration of condonation under Rule 56A(2B).

Analysis: Rule 56A(2B) required the application for condonation of delay to be made to and considered by the Collector, and the relevant factual satisfaction had to be recorded at that stage. In the absence of such consideration, the claim before the Assistant Commissioner was premature.

Conclusion: The matter could not be finally determined without the Collector's decision under Rule 56A(2B).

Final Conclusion: The order denying relief was set aside and the matter was sent back for reconsideration after the statutory process under Rule 56A(2B) was completed.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory excise benefit cannot be denied merely because it was not claimed earlier, but where the governing rule requires prior condonation by the Collector, adjudication on the claim is premature until that statutory prerequisite is satisfied.

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