Appellant wins duty refund appeal after timely certificate submission denial.

The appellant was initially denied a refund of duty under a full exemption notification for excisable goods due to not procuring a required certificate before clearance, resulting in the payment of duty. Despite later obtaining and submitting the certificate, the refund claim was rejected. However, the Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant, emphasizing that exemption eligibility should not be denied solely based on the timing of certificate submission. The Tribunal allowed the appeal, granting the appellant the refund subject to verification by the Original Authority, citing relevant precedents.

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Issues:
1. Denial of refund of duty under full exemption notification.
2. Rejection of refund claim due to non-submission of required certificate before clearance of goods.

Analysis:
Issue 1: The appellant was denied a refund of duty under a full exemption notification for the clearance of excisable goods covered under notification no.108/95-CE dated 28.08.1995. The appellant manufactured Electronic Point Machines for a Railway project approved by the Asian Development Bank, which qualified for exemption under the said notification. However, due to not procuring the required certificate from the buyer (Railways) before clearance, they mistakenly paid duty amounting to &8377; 5,14,176. Subsequently, the appellant obtained the necessary certificate and filed a refund claim within the stipulated period under Section 11 B of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Lower Authorities rejected the claim citing non-fulfillment of the essential condition of producing the certificate before clearance, leading to the denial of the claim.

Issue 2: The Tribunal, after hearing both sides and examining the appeal record, noted that although the appellant submitted the required certificate from the Competent Authority through the buyer after the clearance of goods, the exemption eligibility could not be denied solely on this ground. Citing precedents like CCE Vs. Dynaspede Integrated Ltd. and others, the Tribunal held that the appellant was entitled to the refund, subject to verification of the payment by the Original Authority. The Tribunal set aside the impugned order, allowing the appeal and ruling in favor of the appellant.

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