SAD refund limitation under provisional assessment must follow the Customs Act, not a contrary refund notification.

Refund of SAD cannot be rejected as time-barred where the bill of entry was provisionally assessed, because the relevant date for limitation must be determined under Section 27(1B)(c) of the Customs Act. The refund notification does not create a contrary limitation rule and must be read harmoniously with the statute. Applying that approach, the claim was held not to be barred by limitation and was allowed.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim of SAD could be rejected as time-barred when the bill of entry was provisionally assessed and the date of payment was to be reckoned under the governing statutory provision.

Analysis: The refund claim was denied on limitation. The decision followed the earlier ruling on the same issue and applied the view that, where provisional assessment is involved, the relevant date for limitation has to be determined in accordance with Section 27(1B)(c) of the Customs Act. The notification governing refund did not provide a contrary rule, and it had to be read harmoniously with the statutory provision.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not liable to be rejected as time-barred, and the appeal succeeded.

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