Refund claim limitation under board clarification accepted, with remand for fresh adjudication on the merits.

Refund claims for the quarter ending March 2008 were held to be within time under the Board clarification, which allowed such claims to be filed up to 31.12.2008; a claim filed on 02.12.2008 was therefore timely. Because the lower authorities had rejected the claim only on limitation without examining the merits, their orders were set aside to that extent and the matter was remanded to the original authority for fresh adjudication after giving a reasonable opportunity of hearing. The separate appeal relating to the earlier period was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim for the quarter ending March 2008 was within time in view of the Board clarification, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The clarification dated 12.03.2009 permitted refund claims relating to the quarter ending March 2008 and the quarter ending June 2008 to be filed up to 31.12.2008. The claim for the quarter ending March 2008 was filed on 02.12.2008 and was therefore within the prescribed time limit. Since the lower authorities had rejected the claim only on limitation without examining the merits, their orders could not be sustained. The matter was required to be sent back to the original authority for fresh adjudication after giving the appellant a reasonable opportunity of hearing.

Conclusion: The refund claim for the quarter ending March 2008 was held to be within time, the impugned orders were set aside to that extent, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration. The separate appeal relating to the earlier period was rejected.

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