Tribunal Upholds Rejection of Refund Claim for Excise Duty on Exempt Goods

The Tribunal upheld the lower authorities' decision to reject the appellant's refund claim for excise duty paid on goods eligible for exemption under Notification No. 108/95-CE as time-barred under Section 11B, as the claim was filed beyond one year from the relevant date. Despite the appellant's argument that the duty paid was not actually payable under the notification, the Tribunal held that the time limit under Section 11B applied. The appeal was dismissed, emphasizing the Tribunal's obligation to adhere to statutory time limits compared to High Courts.

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Issues involved: Whether the appellant's refund claim of excise duty paid on goods eligible for exemption under Notification No. 108/95-CE dated 28.08.1995 is time-barred or not.

Analysis:
1. The appellant paid duty under an invoice dated 30.06.2016, realizing later that the goods were exempt under Notification No. 108/95-CE, filed a refund claim on 18.09.2017. The department claimed the refund was time-barred under Section 11B for being filed after one year from the relevant date.

2. Despite multiple opportunities, no one appeared for the appellant. The appeal was taken up for disposal.

3. The Authorized Representative for the Revenue reiterated the impugned order's findings and submitted a compilation of notifications and case law.

4. The appellant argued that the duty paid was not actually payable under Notification 108/95-CE, considering it a deposit, hence Section 11B's time limit would not apply. They cited judgments of High Courts to support their stance.

5. The Member (Judicial) found that although the duty paid was later deemed unnecessary under the notification, it was still considered duty paid. Thus, the time limit under Section 11B applied, and since the refund claim was filed beyond one year, it was time-barred.

6. The Tribunal, as a statutory body, is bound by the statutory time limit under Section 11(B) and cannot overlook it, unlike High Courts. While High Courts can relax time limits, the Tribunal cannot. Therefore, the time-barred refund claim was rightly rejected by lower authorities, and the impugned order was upheld, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.

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