Buyer's refund claim under Section 11B remains subject to limitation despite manufacturer's duty payment under protest.

A buyer's refund claim under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is independent of the manufacturer's payment of duty under protest, and the proviso excluding the six-month limit for protested payments applies only to the person who paid under protest. A purchaser must still file within the prescribed limitation period, counted from the relevant date of purchase, and satisfy the statutory refund conditions under Section 11B. The earlier view in National Winder was treated as per incuriam in Allied Photographics, and Western Coalfields followed that interpretation. The buyer's refund application was therefore barred by limitation and not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether a buyer's refund claim under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is within limitation when the manufacturer had paid the duty under protest, and whether the protection of the second proviso to Section 11B(1) extends to such buyer.

Analysis: Section 11B draws a clear distinction between a manufacturer's refund claim and a buyer's refund claim. The proviso dispensing with the six-month limitation where duty is paid under protest applies to the person who paid the duty under protest, but a buyer claiming refund must still satisfy the statutory scheme governing refund, including the limitation period counted from the relevant date of purchase and the conditions in Section 11B(2)(e). The earlier view in National Winder was treated as per incuriam in Allied Photographics, and the later decision in Western Coalfields applied that interpretation to hold that a purchaser cannot rely on the manufacturer's protest to bypass limitation.

Conclusion: The buyer's refund claim was barred by limitation and the benefit of the manufacturer's payment under protest was not available to extend the limitation period.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the refund application, filed by the purchaser long after the statutory period, was not maintainable under the governing refund provisions.

Ratio Decidendi: A buyer's refund claim under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is independent of the manufacturer's payment under protest, and the proviso excluding limitation for protested payments does not dispense with the buyer's obligation to file within the prescribed time and satisfy the statutory refund conditions.

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