Refund of excise duty already deposited under interim relief failed where later consent terms and waiver covered only arrears.

Refund of excise duty already deposited under an interim order was not available because the later consent terms contained no express refund stipulation. The subsequent exemption notification operated prospectively and therefore did not affect duty paid earlier. The Government letter on waiver of arrears was limited to the outstanding 75% stayed from recovery and could not be extended to the 25% already deposited. The High Court's refund direction was therefore unsustainable, and the claim failed because neither the consent arrangement nor the governmental communication covered the amount already paid.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to refund of the 25% central excise duty paid pursuant to the interim order in view of the subsequent consent terms, the exemption notification and the Government letter dealing with waiver of arrears.

Analysis: The consent terms recorded by the High Court did not contain any stipulation for refund of the 25% duty already deposited under the interim order. The interim order had specifically left the question of refund to be decided finally if the petitions succeeded, but the order disposing of the writ petitions in terms of the consent terms was silent on that aspect. The exemption notification issued later was prospective and operated only for the future, so it had no bearing on duty already paid. The Government letter dated 6 April 1989 was confined to waiver of arrears of excise duty, which referred only to the unpaid 75% amount whose recovery had been stayed, and could not be read as covering duty already deposited.

Conclusion: The petitioners were not entitled to refund of the 25% excise duty already paid, and the High Court's direction granting refund was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The claim for refund failed because the later consent arrangement and Government communications covered only waiver of the outstanding duty and did not extend to the amount deposited under the interim order.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund cannot be ordered for duty already paid under an interim arrangement unless the subsequent settlement, order or governmental action expressly or by necessary implication covers that payment; a prospective exemption or waiver of arrears does not operate to refund sums already deposited.

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