Limitation for refund claims: filing on the next working day is treated as in time when the last day falls on a holiday.

A refund claim under Rule 173L was treated as timely where the six-month limitation under Section 11B expired on a Sunday and departmental holiday. The returned goods were received on 23-2-1999, making 22-8-1999 the last day for filing; the claim was filed on 23-8-1999. Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applied so that an act done on the next working day after expiry on a holiday is deemed in time. The one-day delay objection therefore failed, and the refund claim could not be rejected as time-barred.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim filed under Rule 173L was time-barred when the last day of the six-month period under Section 11B fell on a Sunday holiday, and whether Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applied to treat the claim filed on the next day as within time.

Analysis: The returned goods were received in the factory on 23-2-1999, so the six-month period for filing the refund claim expired on 22-8-1999. That date was a Sunday and a departmental holiday. The claim was filed on 23-8-1999. In such a situation, Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies, and when the prescribed period expires on a holiday, the act done on the next working day is treated as done in time. The limitation contention based on the one-day delay therefore could not succeed.

Conclusion: The refund claim was within limitation and could not be rejected as time-barred.

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