Implied bar of civil court jurisdiction in excise refund disputes where classification and levy fall within the statutory machinery.

Civil court jurisdiction under Section 9 CPC is excluded by clear implication where a taxing statute creates a complete assessment, appeal and revision scheme. In a refund suit concerning excise duty, the real controversy was whether the goods were scoured or bleached and whether duty had been correctly levied under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944; that issue fell within the statutory machinery and could be adjudicated by excise authorities. The exception for action taken wholly outside the Act or in breach of fundamental procedural safeguards did not apply because no such breach was alleged. The civil suit was therefore impliedly barred and the refund claim was not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the civil court's jurisdiction was impliedly barred in a suit seeking refund of excise duty where the dispute concerned classification of goods and correctness of levy under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944.

Analysis: The general jurisdiction of civil courts under Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code is excluded only by express provision or clear implication. The Act created special rights and liabilities and provided a complete machinery of assessment, appeal and revision under Sections 35 and 36. The appellate order was final subject to revision, and the statutory authorities were required to act judicially and in accordance with natural justice. The dispute before the civil court was only whether the cloth was scoured or bleached and whether duty had been correctly assessed on that basis. Such a question fell within the statutory scheme and could be adequately adjudicated by the excise authorities. The exception recognised where the statutory tribunal acts outside the Act or in breach of fundamental procedural safeguards did not apply, as no such allegation was made.

Conclusion: The civil suit was impliedly barred and the refund claim was not maintainable in the civil court.

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