Valid refund application under Rule 11 allowed verification of excise refund claim from the earlier date.

A refund application that expressly sought refund and enclosed a purchases statement was treated as a valid application under Rule 11 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944. The later view that no proper application existed until 21-11-75 was held erroneous, and the refund claim was allowed to be considered from 10-5-74 onwards. The claim was directed to be verified for the period 10-5-74 to 31-7-75 on the basis of the records and subject to entitlement under the notification, with the prior denial for the earlier period set aside.

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Issues: Whether the refund application dated 9-5-75 was a proper application under Rule 11 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 so as to entitle the appellant to refund from 10-5-74 onwards, and whether the refund claim should be verified for the period 10-5-74 to 31-7-75.

Analysis: The application dated 9-5-75 expressly sought refund and enclosed a statement of purchases, showing that it was a valid refund application within Rule 11. The Tribunal's view that no proper application had been made until 21-11-75 was erroneous. Since the claim was maintainable from the earlier date, the refund period had to be considered from 10-5-74, subject to verification by the Collector on the records and subject to entitlement under the notification.

Conclusion: The application dated 9-5-75 was held to be a proper refund application, and the claim was directed to be verified for the period from 10-5-74 to 31-7-75. The finding denying refund for the earlier period was set aside, and the decision was in favour of the assessee.

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