Rebate claim limitation amendment applies to pending claims, with delay condonable where the remedy was still alive.

The amended rebate notification replaced the earlier reference to the statutory limitation under Section 11B with a self-contained six-month time limit, allowing the proviso to Rule 12 to operate and permit condonation of delay in appropriate cases. The applicable limitation is the one in force when the rebate claim is filed, and a procedural change in limitation ordinarily applies to pending matters unless it extinguishes a vested or already time-barred remedy. Claims still within the six-month period on the date of amendment could be entertained and delay condoned, while claims already barred before the amendment could not be revived.

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Issues: Whether, after amendment of the rebate notification, the Collector (Appeals) could condone delay in filing rebate claims under Rule 12 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, and whether the amended time limit applied to claims whose limitation had not expired before the amendment.

Analysis: The amended notification substituted a six-month limitation in place of the earlier reference to the statutory time limit under Section 11B of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, thereby making the notification self-contained. Once the limitation no longer flowed directly from the statute, the proviso to Rule 12 could be invoked to condone delay in appropriate cases. The governing limitation was the one in force when the rebate claim was filed, and a change in procedural limitation generally applies to pending matters unless it destroys a vested or dead remedy. Claims for which the six-month period had not expired on the date of amendment were capable of being entertained, while a claim already time-barred before the amendment could not be revived.

Conclusion: The amended notification validly applied to the rebate claims that were still within limitation on the date of amendment, and delay in those claims could be condoned in favour of the assessee. The claim already barred before the amendment remained a dead remedy and could not be revived.

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