Statutory limitation bars rebate claims filed late, and fiscal authorities cannot condone delay beyond the prescribed time limit.

Rebate claims filed beyond the statutory period under Section 11B were held to be not entertainable because the rebate notifications incorporated that limitation. The Tribunal stated that the time limit barred the remedy itself and that authorities under the Central Excise Act had no power to relax or condone the delay. It further treated Supreme Court authority on statutory limitation as controlling, rejecting contrary reliance on High Court precedent. The rebate claims were therefore rejected as time-barred, and delay could not be condoned.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's rebate claims, filed beyond the limitation period prescribed under Section 11B, could be entertained and whether the adjudicating authority or the Tribunal had any power to condone the delay.

Analysis: The rebate claims were filed long after the dates of export. The governing rebate notifications linked the filing of rebate claims to the time limit in Section 11B. The Tribunal held that the limitation under Section 11B barred the remedy itself and that authorities functioning under the Central Excise Act had no power to relax or condone the statutory time limit. The Tribunal declined to follow the assessee's reliance on High Court authority, holding that the Supreme Court decisions on statutory limitation were controlling and that the departmental authorities were bound by the limitation prescribed by the Act.

Conclusion: The rebate claims were rightly rejected as time-barred, and no condonation of delay was permissible.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the rebate claims could not be entertained outside the statutory limitation period governing refund-based rebate relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Authorities acting under fiscal statutes cannot extend or condone a limitation period expressly prescribed by the statute for rebate or refund claims; once that period expires, the statutory remedy is barred.

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