Special Additional Duty refund claims must still meet the one-year filing limit despite circular-based monthly consolidation.

A refund claim for Special Additional Duty remained subject to the notification's one-year filing limit from the date of payment of duty. The circular allowing consolidated monthly refund claims did not override or relax that statutory deadline; it only permitted consolidation where the entire quantity of goods was sold within a month. Each bill of entry therefore had to be covered by a claim filed within one year of its own duty payment date. On that basis, the refund was time-barred for the relevant bills of entry and the appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim for Special Additional Duty was barred by limitation notwithstanding the circular permitting consolidated monthly refund claims.

Analysis: The refund notification required the claim to be filed within one year from the date of payment of duty. The circular relied upon by the appellant only permitted consolidation of claims where the entire quantity of goods was sold within a month, but it did not override or dilute the statutory time limit fixed by the notification. The consolidated claim still had to be presented within one year from the respective date of payment of duty for each bill of entry.

Conclusion: The refund claim was rightly held to be time-barred in respect of the relevant bills of entry and the appeal was liable to be rejected.

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