Provisional excise assessment: refund follows finalisation, and securities from a later period cannot be diverted to an earlier liability.

Finalisation of provisional excise assessment under Rule 9B(5) required duty already adjusted against the assessed liability, and excess duty became refundable on finalisation itself. Securities furnished for a subsequent assessment period could not be appropriated to discharge liability for an earlier period where adequate deposits and securities already existed for that earlier period. The rule did not require a separate refund application after final assessment, as that would create unnecessary multiplicity of proceedings. Section 11 did not justify diversion of security from a different assessment period on these facts.

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Issues: Whether, on finalisation of provisional assessment, the department could appropriate securities furnished for a subsequent period to discharge the duty liability of an earlier period, and whether refund had to be claimed by a separate application after final assessment.

Analysis: The assessee had furnished sufficient ad hoc cash deposits and securities for the period covered by the earlier finalisation order. The securities relating to the subsequent period could not be diverted to satisfy the liability determined for the earlier period when adequate securities for that earlier period were already available. Rule 9B(5) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 required adjustment of provisional duty against the duty finally assessed and provided that, if excess duty had been paid, the assessee became entitled to refund on finalisation itself. The rule did not contemplate a separate refund claim, and such a direction would only create avoidable multiplicity of proceedings. The reference to Section 11 of the Central Excises Act, 1944 did not justify appropriation from securities belonging to a different assessment period in the facts of the case.

Conclusion: The appropriation from the securities furnished for the subsequent period was not permissible, and refund followed finalisation of provisional assessment without a separate claim.

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