Rule 173L refund relief is limited to returned goods for reprocessing; destroyed goods are outside its scope.

Rule 173L of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 allows refund only when excisable goods cleared for home consumption are returned to the factory for re-making, refining, reconditioning or a similar process, with timely intimation and compliance with the rule's procedure. Goods that were merely destroyed after clearance, and not returned for any of the prescribed purposes, fall outside that relief. As no corresponding provision under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 or the Rules extended refund to such destruction, the refund claim was not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether refund of excise duty was admissible under rule 173L of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 in respect of goods that were received back after clearance but were destroyed and not returned for being re-made, refined, reconditioned or subjected to a similar process.

Analysis: Rule 173L permits refund only where excisable goods issued for home consumption are returned to the factory for being re-made, refined, reconditioned or subjected to any other similar process. The provision also requires information of re-entry to be given within the prescribed time and the returned goods to be dealt with in accordance with the rule. On the facts, the goods were not returned for any of the purposes contemplated by the rule, and destruction of goods does not fall within its scope. Since there was no corresponding provision under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 or the Central Excise Rules, 1944 extending refund relief to such destruction, the claim could not be sustained.

Conclusion: Refund under rule 173L was not admissible for destroyed goods, and the Revenue's appeal succeeded.

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