Limitation for excise refund recovery runs from refund issue date, making a delayed show cause notice time-barred.

For limitation under Rule 10 of the Central Excise Rules, the relevant date for recovery of refunded excise duty is the date on which the refund cheque or voucher is issued, not the date of encashment. On that basis, a show cause notice issued after the prescribed one-year period is time-barred and cannot sustain a demand for recovery of the refunded amount.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice for recovery of the refunded excise duty was barred by limitation under Rule 10 of the Central Excise Rules.

Analysis: The relevant date for computing limitation was held to be the date on which the refund cheque or voucher was issued, not the date of its encashment. Applying that principle, the notice issued after expiry of the prescribed one-year period could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The show cause notice was time-barred and the demand based on the refunded amount was not payable.

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