Drawback claim limitation: condonation under Rule 6 ends after the statutory grace period, and Rule 15 is not a substitute.

Drawback refund applications under Rule 6(1)(a) of the Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, 1971 must be filed within 30 days of export, with a further 30 days available only on sufficient cause shown. The limited condonation power under Rule 6 does not extend beyond the 60-day statutory period, so applications filed later are time-barred. Rule 15 is a separate provision for relaxation or exemption from compliance with the Rules and is not a substitute for condonation of delay. Where no proper Rule 15 request was made before the authorities, relief cannot be obtained in writ proceedings by recharacterising the belated applications.

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Issues: Whether drawback refund applications filed beyond the prescribed period could be entertained by condoning delay under Rule 6 of the Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, 1971, and whether relief could be granted by invoking Rule 15 of those Rules.

Analysis: Rule 6(1)(a) permits an application for drawback within thirty days from the date of export, with a further period of thirty days available only if sufficient cause is shown. The Court held that this limited condonation power operates only within the statutory grace period and does not extend beyond sixty days from export. The applications in question were filed well beyond that period. The Court further held that Rule 15 is a distinct provision dealing with relaxation or exemption from compliance with the Rules, and it is not the same as condonation of delay under Rule 6. Since the petitioners had never properly sought relaxation under Rule 15 before the authorities, they could not obtain such relief through the writ proceedings.

Conclusion: The drawback claims were rightly rejected as time-barred, and no relief could be granted by treating the belated applications as capable of condonation under Rule 6 or by substituting a Rule 15 request.

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