Rebate claim limitation cannot defeat relief when essential shipping bill is supplied late and complete filing was impossible.

A rebate claim under Rule 18 was treated as not barred by limitation where the essential shipping bill was supplied by the Department only after the one-year period had passed. The Court applied the principle that procedural requirements and supplementary instructions cannot defeat a claim when the claimant could not file a complete application without the delayed document. Limitation under Section 11-B had to be read in light of the availability of the necessary supporting papers, and the rebate request was required to be examined on merits after those papers became available. The rejection for limitation was therefore set aside and the matter directed to be reconsidered afresh.

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Issues: Whether the rebate claim under Rule 18 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 was barred by limitation under Section 11-B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 when the shipping bill was supplied to the claimant after delay and the claim was filed thereafter.

Analysis: The rebate claim had been rejected on the view that it was not made within one year from the date of shipment. The Court applied the earlier Division Bench view that procedural requirements and supplementary instructions are meant to aid justice and cannot be used to defeat a claim where the relevant documents were not available because of delay on the part of the Department. It was noted that the shipping bill was issued only after more than one year, and without it the claimant could not have filed a complete rebate application in accordance with the prescribed procedure. On that basis, the Court held that the limitation under Section 11-B had to be understood with reference to the availability of the necessary supporting documents and that the claim ought to be examined on merits.

Conclusion: The rejection of the rebate claim on limitation was unsustainable, and the claim was required to be reconsidered afresh on merits.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, the rejection orders were set aside, and the competent authority was directed to decide the rebate application afresh in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a rebate or refund claim cannot be duly filed because the Department supplies the essential supporting document belatedly, procedural stipulations and limitation are to be applied in a manner that does not defeat the claim on technical grounds, and the claim must be assessed after the requisite documents become available.

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