Refund for double-paid excise duty on same goods allowed after export cancellation and re-clearance

Excise duty refund was held admissible where the same goods were first cleared for export on payment of duty, returned to the factory after cancellation of the export order under Rule 173M, and then cleared again on payment of duty. The record did not establish that the second clearance involved different goods, and a different buyer shown on the invoice did not displace the finding of return and re-clearance of the same goods. On that basis, denial of refund was unsustainable and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether refund was admissible where excise duty had been paid twice on the same goods after the export order was cancelled and the goods were brought back and cleared again on payment of duty.

Analysis: The goods were first cleared for export on payment of duty, then returned to the factory under Rule 173M after cancellation of the export order, and thereafter cleared again on payment of duty. The record did not show that the second clearance related to different goods, nor that the goods initially cleared were not the same goods brought back to the factory. The mere fact that the invoice mentioned another buyer did not negate the return and re-clearance of the same goods. The material therefore showed payment of duty twice on the same goods, making the rejection of refund unsustainable.

Conclusion: Refund was admissible and the assessee succeeded on the issue.

Ratio Decidendi: Where excise duty is paid twice on the same goods after their return under the prescribed procedure and re-clearance on payment of duty, refund cannot be denied on a mere inference that the goods were different or were not originally intended for export.

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