Refund limitation for concessional excise duty runs from the initial eligibility application, not the later refund claim date.

Where entitlement to concessional excise duty depended on prior departmental determination, the limitation period for refund was computed from the date on which the assessee first applied for fixation of base figures and eligibility, not from the later refund application. Because the right to refund arose only after the competent authority determined concessional assessment under the exemption notifications, those initial applications were treated as the operative dates for limitation. The refund claim was therefore maintainable for the relevant one-year period preceding those dates, and the limitation objection was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the limitation for refund of excise duty in the circumstances of the case had to be computed from the dates on which the assessees applied for fixation of base figures and determination of eligibility for concessional duty, rather than from the dates of the later refund applications.

Analysis: The assessees were paying duty at the regular rate until the competent Central Excise authority determined their eligibility for concessional assessment under the relevant exemption notifications. In that situation, the right to claim refund could arise only after such determination, and the earlier applications for fixation of base figures were the operative dates for limitation purposes. The later refund applications were therefore not to be tested solely with reference to the dates of actual refund claims, but by reference to the dates on which the initial applications were received by the authority. On that basis, refund could be considered for the period of one year preceding those dates.

Conclusion: The limitation objection was rejected, and the refund claims were held to be maintainable for the relevant period.

Ratio Decidendi: Where entitlement to concessional duty depends on prior departmental determination, the limitation for refund runs from the date of the application seeking such determination, not from the later date of the refund application.

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