Excise duty refund requires proof of duty incidence and exemption status, with fresh verification needed for later period.

Refund of excise duty depended on the SSI exemption changes under Chapter 93.05 and on whether the duty incidence was passed on to the buyer. Where no duty liability existed during the period after withdrawal and before restoration of exemption, a refund could not be claimed merely because the invoice reflected a duty-inclusive price. For the period after 01.10.2001, the record did not clearly show whether the assessee had borne the duty burden or passed it on, so the factual position required fresh verification by the Assessing Authority.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to refund of excise duty in view of the exemption changes and whether the incidence of duty had been passed on to the buyer.

Analysis: The price structure and refund entitlement had to be examined in the light of the SSI exemption under Chapter 93.05 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, the withdrawal of exemption by Notification No. 8/2001 dated 01.03.2001, and the restoration of exemption by Notification No. 47/01 dated 01.10.2001. For the period when no duty liability existed, a refund claim could not be sustained merely because the invoice mentioned a duty-inclusive price. For the later period, the records did not clearly establish whether the duty burden was actually borne by the assessee or passed on to the purchaser, and the factual position required proper verification.

Conclusion: The refund claim could not be accepted on the existing record in full, and the matter was required to be examined afresh by the Assessing Authority for the period after 01.10.2001.

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