Limitation Act applies to excise refund claims based on mistake of law; time-bar rejection alone was not sustained.

The Limitation Act applies to quasi-judicial excise refund proceedings unless expressly excluded, and a refund claim based on a mistake of law discovered through a Supreme Court ruling cannot be rejected solely as time-barred under Rule 11 without examining the applicable limitation basis. The lower authority had not considered the merits of the refund, the admissibility of the amounts, or whether the mistake could earlier have been discovered with due diligence, so those issues required fresh consideration. The limitation-based rejection was therefore not sustained, and the claims were remitted for reconsideration on admissibility and due diligence.

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Issues: Whether the Limitation Act applies to refund claims in excise proceedings arising from a mistake of law, and whether the claims could be rejected solely as time-barred under Rule 11 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944.

Analysis: The order records that the refund claims had been rejected as barred by limitation, but the basis of the time-bar was not clearly specified. It was held that the Limitation Act applies to quasi-judicial proceedings unless expressly excluded, and that where a mistake of law is discovered only upon a Supreme Court pronouncement, the Limitation Act must be applied. Since the merits of the refund claims, the admissibility of the amounts, and the question whether the mistake could have been discovered earlier with due diligence were not examined by the lower authority, those matters were left for fresh consideration.

Conclusion: The Limitation Act applies to the refund claims, and rejection solely on the ground of limitation was not sustained; the claims were directed to be considered afresh on admissibility and due diligence.

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