Refund claim and unjust enrichment must be re-examined when a Board circular and audited accounts support non-liability and no passing on of tax.

Refund claims rejected on merits and for unjust enrichment require fresh examination where a subsequent Board circular states that no tax was leviable and audited financial statements are produced to show that the incidence was not passed on. The Tribunal held that these materials were relevant to both liability and unjust enrichment, so the original authority had to reconsider the claim after granting a proper hearing. The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded for decision in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim, rejected on merits and on the ground of unjust enrichment, required reconsideration in light of the Board circular and the evidence produced by the appellant.

Analysis: The refund had been declined on both merits and unjust enrichment. The Tribunal noted that the appellant relied on a subsequent Board circular stating that no tax was leviable and also placed audited financial statements to support the plea that the incidence had not been passed on. Since these materials were relevant to both the merits of liability and the issue of unjust enrichment, the matter required fresh examination by the original authority after considering the circular and the evidence, with a proper opportunity of hearing.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh decision in accordance with law.

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