Unjust enrichment bars excise refund unless duty incidence is disproved; refund claims cannot reopen unmodified assessments.

Refund of excess excise duty was found to be barred where the claimant failed to rebut the statutory presumption of unjust enrichment under Sections 11B, 12A, 12B and 12C of the Central Excise Act. The Tribunal held that credit notes alone did not prove that the duty burden was not passed on, and the Chartered Accountant's certificate lacked sufficient particulars to establish that the excess duty had been returned to buyers. It also reiterated that a refund authority cannot reopen or modify an assessment through a refund claim, so claims filed without first altering the assessment were not maintainable. Claims filed beyond limitation were likewise rejected, and the provisional assessment challenge was rendered infructuous.

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Issues: (i) whether refund claims arising from excess duty paid on clearances were barred by unjust enrichment and whether credit notes and a Chartered Accountant's certificate were sufficient to rebut the statutory presumption of passing on duty; (ii) whether refund claims could be entertained without modification of the self-assessment or original assessment order and whether time-barred claims were admissible.

Issue (i): whether refund claims arising from excess duty paid on clearances were barred by unjust enrichment and whether credit notes and a Chartered Accountant's certificate were sufficient to rebut the statutory presumption of passing on duty.

Analysis: The refund scheme under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 requires the claimant to establish that the incidence of duty was not passed on. Sections 12A and 12B create a statutory framework of duty indication and a presumption that the burden has been passed on, while Section 12C channels refundable amounts to the Consumer Welfare Fund unless the claimant discharges that burden. The Tribunal held that mere issue of credit notes did not by itself prove that the duty burden was not passed on. The Chartered Accountant's certificate relied upon did not contain sufficient particulars showing that the excess duty had actually been returned to customers or that the incidence had remained with the assessee.

Conclusion: The refund claims were not established to be free from unjust enrichment on the material placed before the Tribunal, and the assessee's claim on this issue failed.

Issue (ii): whether refund claims could be entertained without modification of the self-assessment or original assessment order and whether time-barred claims were admissible.

Analysis: The Tribunal applied the settled principle that a refund authority cannot sit in appeal over an assessment order and that a refund claim cannot be used to reopen an assessment that has not been set aside or modified in accordance with law. The Tribunal also noted that the assessee conceded that some claims were filed beyond the limitation period under Section 11B. In respect of the appeal concerning provisional assessment, the challenge had become infructuous.

Conclusion: The refund claims were not maintainable where the assessment had not been modified, and the time-barred claims were also liable to rejection; the separate appeal on provisional assessment was dismissed as infructuous.

Final Conclusion: The Department succeeded on the refund issue, while the assessee's appeals failed except for the infructuous matter, which was separately disposed of.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund of excise duty can be granted only when the claimant affirmatively rebuts the statutory presumption of passing on duty under the refund provisions, and a refund authority cannot reopen an assessment in the guise of deciding a refund claim.

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