Refund limitation under Central Excise law does not apply where duty was paid under protest and the protest is inferred from conduct.

Refund claims under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act are not subject to the one-year limitation where duty was paid under protest. The Court held that protest need not be expressed in any formal manner and may be inferred from the assessee's conduct and correspondence. Letters asserting non-liability, seeking clarification, and stating that payment was being made under departmental pressure were sufficient to show that the payments were not voluntary. On that basis, the refund claim was treated as maintainable and not barred by limitation, with the issue decided in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim was barred by limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 despite the amounts having been paid under protest.

Analysis: The refund application was treated as maintainable under Section 11B, and the only live question was limitation. The second proviso to Section 11B(1) excludes the one-year limitation where duty has been paid under protest. The Court held that protest need not be in any particular form and may be inferred from the conduct and correspondence showing that the payment was not voluntary. The letters written by the assessee asserting non-liability, seeking clarification, and stating that payment was being made under departmental pressure established that the payments were made under protest.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not barred by limitation, and the question was answered in favour of the assessee.

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