Refund limitation cannot defeat amounts collected during investigation and later held not payable as duty; interest follows.

Amounts collected during investigation before the show cause notice, where the earlier adjudication had already held that no duty was payable and had directed refund, were not voluntary duty payments for the six-month refund limitation. On those facts, the sums were treated as refundable deposits, or at least as duty paid under protest, so the limitation bar did not apply. The refund claim was therefore not time-barred, and the assessee was entitled to refund with interest under the statutory provision.

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Issues: Whether the amount collected during investigation was a duty payment or only a deposit, and whether the refund claim was barred by limitation.

Analysis: The amounts were paid before issuance of the show cause notice and during the course of investigation. The earlier adjudication had concluded that no duty was payable and had directed refund of the amount, and that order had attained finality. On these facts, the sums could not be treated as voluntary duty payments for the purpose of the six-month limitation under the refund provisions. If the amounts were to be treated as duty at all, they were to be treated as duty paid under protest in the circumstances, so the limitation defence was not available. The claim was also otherwise found eligible, and interest was directed in accordance with the statutory provision.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not time-barred and the assessee was entitled to refund with applicable interest.

Ratio Decidendi: Amounts collected during investigation, before final determination of duty liability, and later held not payable as duty, are to be treated as refundable deposits or, at the least, as duty paid under protest so that refund limitation does not defeat the claim.

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