Refund limitation and payment under protest: later debit treated as protest, but refund claim filed too late and rejected.

A refund claim filed in 2004 for duty earlier debited by mistake in RG-23C Part II in 1998 and 1999 was found to be barred by limitation. The later debit in RG-23A Part II on 29-1-1999 was treated as the only payment under protest, so the assessee was required to seek refund of the earlier amounts within the statutory limitation period. The plea that the earlier debit also amounted to payment under protest was rejected, and the adjustment argument did not extend the filing time. The rejection of refund was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim filed in August 2004 for duty paid by wrong debit in RG-23C Part II in 1998 and 1999 was barred by limitation, and whether the earlier payment could be treated as payment under protest.

Analysis: The subsequent debit in RG-23A Part II on 29-1-1999 was treated as the payment under protest. In that view, the assessee ought to have sought refund of the earlier payments within the statutory period of limitation. The plea that the earlier debit in RG-23C Part II also constituted payment under protest was not accepted, and the argument based on adjustment did not assist the claim because the refund was instituted only in 2004.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held to be time-barred and the rejection of refund was upheld.

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