Excise duty refund claims beyond the limitation period were held barred and not entertainable under governing refund law.

Refund of excise duty collected contrary to law was held not maintainable for the period beyond six months, because the claim fell outside the applicable limitation period. The Assistant Collector confined relief to the six-month period and rejected the earlier portion as time-barred. A High Court direction to consider the entire claim on merits could not stand after the governing law declared in Mafatlal Industries, and the barred portion of the refund claim could not be entertained.

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Issues: Whether the respondent's claim for refund of excise duty collected contrary to law for the period beyond six months was maintainable despite the bar of limitation.

Analysis: The refund application covered a period from March 1, 1975 to April 20, 1979. The Assistant Collector restricted relief to the period within six months and rejected the earlier period as time-barred. The High Court directed consideration of the entire claim on merits without regard to limitation, but that direction could not survive in view of the governing law declared in Mafatlal Industries.

Conclusion: The refund claim for the period beyond six months was barred by limitation and could not be entertained.

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