Double payment of duty and Modvat credit correction prevented limitation from defeating the refund claim.

Refund claims arising from double payment of duty were treated as an accountal adjustment because the same duty liability was discharged first through the Modvat credit account and again through the PLA. The earlier debit was erroneous, and the later cash payment entitled the assessee to restore the corresponding Modvat credit. On those facts, Section 11B limitation did not bar the claim, since the matter was not a fresh refund claim in substance but a correction of the duty account. The rejection of the refund claims as time barred was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the refund claims arising from double payment of duty could be rejected as time barred under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944, when the amounts had already been paid once through the Modvat credit account and again through the PLA.

Analysis: The payment made through the Modvat credit account and the subsequent payment through the PLA related to the same duty liability. The earlier debit was found to be erroneous, and the later payment through the PLA meant that the appellants were entitled to restore the corresponding credit in their Modvat account. On these facts, the matter was only an accountal adjustment and not a case warranting rejection of the claim on limitation.

Conclusion: The refund claims were not hit by time bar and the rejection of the claims was unsustainable.

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