Refund limitation under Section 11B applies absent proof of payment under protest; claim held time-barred.

Refund of service tax paid during investigation was held to remain subject to the Section 11B limitation period where the claimant could not show a formal protest or any material proving payment under protest. The authorities distinguished precedents involving admitted protest payments, merits-based deletion of demand, or true pre-deposits. In the absence of proof that the amount was paid under protest, the refund claim was treated as time-barred and the protest-based exception to limitation was not available.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid during investigation, without a formal protest, could be treated as a payment under protest so as to avoid the limitation bar under Section 11B.

Analysis: The refund claim was filed after the prescribed limitation period. The payment made during investigation was not accompanied by any formal protest, and the tax itself was otherwise legally payable. The authorities distinguished the cases relied on by the appellant on the ground that those matters involved either an admitted payment under protest or different factual situations where the demand was set aside on merits or the payment was made as a true pre-deposit. The controlling principle applied was that, in the absence of proof that the amount was paid under protest, the limitation under Section 11B continues to operate.

Conclusion: The claim was held to be time-barred and the contention that the payment should be treated as one made under protest was rejected.

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