Limitation for refund claims runs from original filing, not resubmission after defect rectification, preserving refund relief.

A refund claim returned for defect rectification and later resubmitted does not become a fresh claim for limitation purposes when it was originally filed within time and was never rejected on merits. The one-year limitation period must be computed from the date of the original filing, not the date of resubmission after curing defects. On that basis, the objection that the claim was time-barred from resubmission was unsustainable, and the refund rejection, along with the consequential appellate orders, could not stand. The assessee was entitled to refund relief with consequential benefits.

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Issues: Whether the period of limitation for the refund claim was to be computed from the date of original submission of the claim or from the date of resubmission after rectification of defects.

Analysis: The refund claim was initially filed within time, later returned for rectification and resubmitted. A returned claim which is not processed and rejected on merits cannot be treated as a fresh claim for the purpose of limitation merely because the defects were cured and the papers were resubmitted. The relevant date for computing the one-year period was therefore the date of the original filing, not the date of resubmission.

Conclusion: The objection that the refund claim was time-barred from the date of resubmission was unsustainable and the claim could not be rejected on that basis.

Final Conclusion: The refund rejection and the consequential appellate orders were unsustainable, and the assessee was entitled to refund relief with consequential benefits.

Ratio Decidendi: When a refund claim is returned for defect rectification and is later resubmitted, limitation is to be reckoned from the date of the original filing, not from the date of resubmission.

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