Refund recovery under Section 11A fails where the sanctioning order was never reviewed or challenged.

Recovery of a refund already sanctioned was held unsustainable where the original refund order had not been reviewed or otherwise challenged. The demand was raised under Section 11A on the basis that the refund was erroneous, but the sanctioning order remained in force and unassailed. The absence of review of the refund order was treated as a fatal defect in the recovery action, so the attempted recovery could not stand and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether recovery of a refund already sanctioned could be sustained under Section 11A when the refund order had not been reviewed or otherwise challenged.

Analysis: The refund was sanctioned by the original authority and that order remained unchallenged. The demand for recovery was sought under Section 11A on the footing that the refund was erroneous, but the sanctioning order itself had not been subjected to review. On the facts, the absence of review of the refund order was treated as a fatal defect, and the recovery action could not stand.

Conclusion: Recovery of the refund under Section 11A was not permissible, and the assessee succeeded.

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