Refund claim maintainability depends on factual proof of payment under protest or provisional assessment, not merely an unchallenged assessment.

The maintainability of a refund claim was treated as settled by Supreme Court authority, so the absence of a challenge to the supplier's assessment did not by itself bar refund. The decisive issue was factual: whether duty had actually been paid under protest or whether the assessment was provisional. As that factual position was not established on the record, the matter was sent back to the original adjudicating authority to verify those facts and decide the refund claim accordingly. The refund claim was therefore not finally determined on merits.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim was barred on the ground that the supplier's assessment had not been challenged, and whether the matter required remand for verification of payment under protest or provisional assessment.

Analysis: The legal position on maintainability of a refund claim against an unchallenged assessment was treated as settled by the cited Supreme Court decisions. However, the dispute turned on a factual question whether duty had in fact been paid under protest or whether the assessment was provisional, and that factual aspect had not been established on the material before the Tribunal. The original adjudicating authority was therefore required to verify those facts and decide the matter accordingly.

Conclusion: The refund issue was not finally decided on merits, and the matter was sent back for factual verification.

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