Rule 173M refund not allowed for returned export tea merely repacked into loose tea

Refund of duty under Rule 173M of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was not available where export-bound package tea was returned to the factory and merely repacked into loose tea. The rule allowed returned excisable goods to be taken back only for remaking, refining, reconditioning, or similar processes, and refund was conditional on completion of those prescribed processes. Repacking did not fall within the contemplated statutory processes, and the record did not establish compliance with the rule's conditions. The refund claim therefore failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether refund of duty was admissible under Rule 173M of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 when export-bound package tea was returned to the factory and repacked into loose tea.

Analysis: Rule 173M permitted return of excisable goods cleared for export to the factory for being remade, refined, reconditioned, or subjected to similar processes, and refund was linked to completion of such processes. Repacking did not fall within those contemplated processes. The record also did not establish that the statutory conditions for refund under the rule were satisfied.

Conclusion: Refund was not admissible under Rule 173M, and the claim failed.

---