Rule 173L refund for returned duty-paid goods was upheld where prescribed procedures and reprocessing requirements were satisfied.

Duty paid goods returned to the manufacturer within the prescribed time and supported by D-3 intimation were treated as eligible for refund under Rule 173L when they were remade or reprocessed before being cleared again. Compliance with the rule's procedural requirements was treated as sufficient on the stated facts, and the objection that reprocessing did not produce a new commodity was not accepted as decisive. The result was that refund under Rule 173L was held admissible on these facts, with the Revenue's challenge failing.

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Issues: Whether refund of duty was admissible under Rule 173L on goods cleared on payment of duty, returned to the manufacturer within the prescribed time, and reprocessed before being cleared again.

Analysis: The goods had been earlier cleared on payment of duty and were received back in the factory within the prescribed period. D-3 intimation was submitted, showing compliance with the procedural requirements of Rule 173L. On these facts, duty paid goods returned to the manufacturer for remaking or reprocessing became eligible for refund under the rule. The objection that reprocessing did not result in a new commodity was not accepted as determinative in the present facts.

Conclusion: Refund was admissible under Rule 173L and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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