Refund and PLA credit for stay deposit after appeal succeeds under Central Excise law; rejection notice not to be pursued.

After the appeal was allowed with consequential relief, an amount deposited pursuant to the stay order under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 had to be returned by the Department without demur. Where the deposit was made through PLA entries, the assessee was entitled to take credit of that amount in the PLA, and the authority was bound to facilitate the credit. A show cause notice proposing rejection of the refund claim was not to be pursued, as the assessee's entitlement to credit and return of the deposit had already crystallised.

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Issues: Whether the amount deposited pursuant to the stay order and adjusted in the PLA was liable to be returned or credited after the appeal had been allowed with consequential relief.

Analysis: The appeal had already been finally allowed, and the amount deposited under the stay order under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 ought to have been returned by the Department without demur. Where the payment had been made by entries in the PLA, the assessee was entitled to take credit of the amount in its PLA, and the authority was bound to facilitate such credit. The show cause notice proposing rejection of the refund claim was not to be pursued.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to credit of the amount deposited pursuant to the stay order, and the Department was directed not to proceed with the notice seeking rejection of the claim.

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