Refund re-quantification on remand required where the amount remained disputed and fresh calculation had to be made from available records.

The adjudicating authority could not decline to revisit refund quantification on the ground that the assessment had already been finalised, because the earlier remand had kept the refund issue open, including whether duty had been passed on. The exact amount therefore remained in dispute and had to be worked out afresh on the basis of the available records and the Chartered Accountant's certificate. The authority was required to state the method of calculation and reconsider the claim on merits. The matter was remanded for the limited purpose of re-examining and re-quantifying the refund in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the adjudicating authority could refuse to re-open the assessment and re-determine the quantum of refund for the relevant period on remand, and whether the refund amount required fresh quantification on the basis of the available records and the Chartered Accountant's certificate.

Analysis: The prior remand had left open the question of whether duty had been passed on and required reconsideration of the refund issue. The impugned order proceeded on the footing that the quantum of refund could not be revisited because the assessments had already been finalised, but the earlier setting aside of the finalisation order meant that the exact amount remained in dispute. Since the assessee produced a Chartered Accountant's certificate and the records already available needed to be examined to work out the correct refund, the authority was required to indicate the method of calculation and reconsider the matter on merits.

Conclusion: The adjudicating authority was required to re-examine and re-quantify the refund, and the matter was remanded for that limited purpose in favour of the assessee.

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