Provisional assessment refund cannot be blocked by unjust enrichment until final assessment is completed

Refund of duty paid under protest during provisional assessments cannot be rejected on unjust enrichment grounds before the assessments are finally determined. Where the finding that the process did not amount to manufacture had already become final, but the assessments under Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 were never finalised, the refund claim had to be examined on the basis of the provisional assessment records and supporting affidavit and documents. The doctrine of unjust enrichment was therefore inapplicable at that stage, and the matter was remitted for finalisation of the assessments and reconsideration of the refund claim on the material on record.

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Issues: Whether the doctrine of unjust enrichment applies to refund claims arising from assessments that remained provisional and had not been finalised.

Analysis: The refund claim arose from duty paid under protest during the period when the assessments continued to be provisional under Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944. The earlier finding that the process was not manufacture had become final, yet the assessments were never finalised in accordance with that finding. In such a situation, the refund could not be rejected merely on the ground of unjust enrichment without first bringing the provisional assessments to finality. The claim had therefore to be examined on the basis of the provisional assessment records and the supporting affidavit and documents.

Conclusion: The doctrine of unjust enrichment was held inapplicable at that stage, and the matter was remitted for finalisation of the assessments and reconsideration of the refund claim on the basis of the material on record.

Ratio Decidendi: Unjust enrichment does not bar refund where duty has been paid under provisional assessment and the assessments have not yet been finally determined.

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