Export refund limitation must be assessed in context; a later rejection of the balance claim was unsustainable.

A refund claim under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, read with Notification No. 27/2012-CE(NT), was treated as arising from the statutory export-refund mechanism and not from a refund becoming due only because of a judgment or order. Section 11B of the Central Excise Act applied to the service tax refund by virtue of Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994, but the relevant date had to be assessed in the context of export of services. Because part of the claim had already been accepted within limitation, a later attempt to reject the balance on a different limitation basis ignored the statutory and factual setting and was found without jurisdiction; the refund was to be processed according to law.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice proposing to reject the refund claim as time-barred under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was sustainable.

Analysis: The refund claim arose from a statutory refund mechanism under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 read with Notification No. 27/2012-CE(NT) dated 18.06.2012, and not from a refund becoming due solely by reason of a judgment, decree, order or direction. By virtue of Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994, Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 applied to the service tax refund proceedings, but the concept of "relevant date" had to be understood in the context of export of services. The earlier adjudication had already accepted part of the refund claim as being within limitation, and the later attempt to reject the balance on a different limitation basis ignored the statutory and factual setting in which the refund accrued.

Conclusion: The proposed rejection on limitation was held to be without jurisdiction and unsustainable, and the refund claim was directed to be processed in accordance with law.

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