Refund limitation runs from completion certificate date where the certificate is a mandatory condition for refund.

Where a refund notification makes a completion certificate a mandatory condition, limitation for the refund claim runs from the date the certificate is issued. The claim could not be treated as time barred because the certificate was available only after completion of construction, and the refund application was filed soon after issuance. The earlier rejection on limitation was therefore not sustainable, and the departmental appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim under the notification was barred by limitation.

Analysis: The refund under the notification was contingent upon production of the completion certificate issued by the district Collector. Since the certificate could be obtained only after completion of the construction, the period for filing the refund claim was held to commence from the date of issuance of that certificate. The claim was filed soon after the certificate was issued, and the earlier rejection on the ground of time bar was not sustainable.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not time barred and the departmental appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a notification makes the completion certificate a mandatory condition for refund, limitation for filing the refund claim runs from the date on which such certificate is issued.

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