Limitation under Section 11B cannot defeat refund of accumulated export-related CENVAT credit under Rule 5 without a clear relevant date.

Limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act was found inapplicable to a refund claim under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules arising from accumulated export-related credit. The definition of "relevant date" in Section 11B did not provide a clear or workable starting point for such claims, so the limitation machinery could not be mechanically used to defeat the refund. On that basis, the refund claim remained maintainable and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the limitation prescribed under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 applied to a refund claim under Rule 5 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004.

Analysis: The refund claim arose from accumulated CENVAT credit relatable to exports. The definition of "relevant date" in Section 11B did not furnish a clear or workable starting point for computing limitation for a refund under Rule 5. In the absence of a specific relevant date applicable to such claims, the limitation machinery could not be mechanically applied to defeat the refund claim.

Conclusion: The limitation under Section 11B did not bar the refund claim under Rule 5, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The refund was held to be maintainable without being defeated by the limitation plea, and the Revenue's appeal was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory scheme for refund of accumulated CENVAT credit from exports does not provide a clear relevant date for computing limitation, the limitation provision in Section 11B cannot be applied so as to deny the refund claim.

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