Cash refund of duty credit after factory closure may be allowed, subject to proof of subsequent PLA payment.

Cash refund of duty debited from the credit account may be available where the factory has closed, but entitlement depends on the factual basis for refund, including verification that subsequent duty payment through PLA was actually made. The Tribunal distinguished the Revenue's relied-on authority, which applied where no PLA payment had been made and credit remained unutilised. It therefore rejected outright denial of cash refund and restored the matter for verification of the subsequent payment position. The refund sanction was consequently set aside and remanded for that limited factual examination.

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Issues: Whether refund of the amount debited from the credit account could be sanctioned in cash on the ground that the factory had closed and whether the entitlement depended on verification of subsequent duty payment through PLA.

Analysis: The amount in dispute had been paid from the credit account for filing the appeal, and the refund was later sanctioned in cash after the factory had closed. The Tribunal distinguished the case relied on by Revenue, noting that the bar against cash refund applied where no PLA payment had been made and the credit remained unutilised. Following the line of authority permitting cash refund where the unit had closed and duty had thereafter been paid through PLA, the matter required verification of whether such subsequent PLA payments were in fact made.

Conclusion: Cash refund could not be denied outright; the matter was restored for verification of subsequent PLA payment, and the assessee's appeal succeeded to that extent.

Final Conclusion: The impugned appellate order was set aside and the refund sanction was restored, but only after verification of the subsequent duty payment position.

Ratio Decidendi: Where credit-paid duty is later found refundable and the unit has closed, cash refund may be allowed if the factual basis for entitlement, including subsequent PLA payment, is verified.

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