Strict compliance with refund notification procedure bars delayed claims filed years after duty payment under the monthly mechanism.

An exemption notification prescribing a monthly procedure for refund claims required the manufacturer to file the duty-paid statement by the 7th of the next month, and that condition could not be ignored. The Tribunal held that the statement, whether filed under the notification or through RT-12 returns, had to contain a refund claim, and distinguished cases where the notification benefit had been specifically claimed in the returns. It further held that Section 11B of the Central Excise Act did not override the notification's own refund mechanism and time limit. Refund claims filed after 5 to 6 years were therefore time-barred and inadmissible.

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Issues: Whether refund claims under Notification No. 33/99-C.E. could be entertained when the required statement or refund claim was filed only after several years from the date of eligibility or duty payment.

Analysis: The notification required the manufacturer to submit a statement of duty paid by the 7th of the next month, followed by verification and refund by the department. The Tribunal held that this monthly filing requirement could not be ignored and that the statement, whether filed specifically under the notification or through RT-12 returns, must contain a refund claim. It distinguished cases where RT-12 returns had specifically claimed the notification benefit. It also held that Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 did not govern refunds under this notification because the notification itself prescribed a specific monthly mechanism and time limit. On a strict reading of the notification as a whole, refund claims filed after 5 to 6 years were held to be beyond time.

Conclusion: The refund claims were time-barred and not admissible.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the notification's monthly statement requirement was treated as mandatory, and delayed refund claims were not permitted.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification prescribes a specific monthly procedure and time limit for claiming refund, that condition must be complied with and delayed claims cannot be entertained merely on the basis of eligibility for the exemption.

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