Limited rectification power cannot reopen debatable unjust enrichment issues in refund disputes from provisional assessment finalisation.

Rectification under the Tribunal's limited error-correction power is confined to an obvious, patent mistake and cannot be used to review or reopen a debatable question of law. On refund arising from finalisation of provisional assessment under rule 9B of the erstwhile Central Excise Rules, 1944, the doctrine of unjust enrichment had been applied on the basis of Sahakari Khand Udyog Mandal Ltd., which treats unjust enrichment as an equitable principle not confined to section 11B. The later reliance on other precedents did not disclose any patent error or reliance on irrelevant material. No mistake apparent from the record was shown, and rectification was not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the earlier final order suffered from any mistake apparent from the record warranting rectification under the Tribunal's rectification power, particularly on the question whether the doctrine of unjust enrichment applied to refund arising on finalisation of provisional assessment under rule 9B of the erstwhile Central Excise Rules, 1944.

Analysis: The rectification jurisdiction is confined to an obvious and patent mistake and cannot be used to reopen the matter or undertake a review on a debatable question of law. The earlier final order had proceeded on the basis of the Supreme Court's decision in Sahakari Khand Udyog Mandal Ltd., which recognised that the doctrine of unjust enrichment is founded on equity and can be invoked irrespective of section 11B. The later reliance placed on other authorities did not show that the original decision rested on irrelevant material or on a patent error; at most, it invited a re-appreciation of competing precedents, which is outside the scope of rectification.

Conclusion: No mistake apparent from the record was established, and the request for rectification was not maintainable. The applications were rightly rejected.

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