Refund sanctioning authority cannot revisit assessment merits while determining refundable amount under refund provisions.

The refund sanctioning authority under Rule 36 read with Section 43 is confined to determining the amount refundable and cannot sit in appeal, review, or revision over the assessment order. Where the Assessing Authority has already allowed refund on the basis of the assessment, the higher authority cannot reopen the merits of that assessment while dealing with refund approval. The Commissioner therefore lacked jurisdiction to reject the refund on merits, and the refund claim was required to be allowed in accordance with the assessment order.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner, acting under Rule 36 read with Section 43, could refuse approval of a refund by examining the merits of the assessment already made by the Assessing Authority.

Analysis: The power exercised for sanctioning refund is limited to determining the amount refundable and does not extend to sitting in appeal, review, or revision over the assessment order. Once the Assessing Authority has allowed the refund on the basis of the assessment, the higher authority cannot reopen the merits of that assessment while dealing with sanction under the refund provisions.

Conclusion: The Commissioner had no jurisdiction to reject the refund on merits, and the assessee was entitled to refund in accordance with the assessment order.

Final Conclusion: The impugned refusal of refund could not be sustained, and the refund claim stood allowed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: An authority empowered only to sanction refund cannot exercise appellate, revisional, or review jurisdiction over the assessment order and must confine itself to quantifying the refund payable.

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