Deposit under protest in excise refund claims avoids normal limitation when payment follows Revenue insistence and timely protest.

A payment made at the Revenue's insistence, followed by a prompt protest, is treated as a deposit under protest rather than a routine duty payment. In that situation, the procedural requirements in Rule 233B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 for regular clearances do not control the claim, and they cannot be used to defeat a substantive refund application. The text states that such a payment is not governed by the normal limitation under section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944, so the refund claim remains admissible and the denial of refund on limitation is unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the amount deposited by the assessee at the instance of the Revenue and followed by a prompt protest letter was a deposit under protest so that the limitation under section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 would not apply to the refund claim.

Analysis: The amount had been paid as a lump sum after the clearances, at the insistence of the Revenue, and was not a routine duty payment at the time of clearance. The assessee lodged a protest within six days of payment. In such a situation, the detailed procedure contemplated by Rule 233B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 for regular clearances was held not to be directly applicable. The procedural requirement could not be used to defeat a substantive refund claim where the payment had in substance been made under protest. The deposit also could not be treated as duty so as to attract the normal limitation provisions.

Conclusion: The limitation under section 11B did not apply, and the refund was admissible in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The denial of refund on limitation was set aside and the assessee's refund claim was sustained with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: A payment made at the insistence of the Revenue, followed by a timely protest, is a deposit under protest and is not governed by the normal limitation applicable to routine duty refunds.

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