Excise duty refund on later price settlement allowed where the final supply price was fixed after clearance, not reduced afterward.

Refund of excise duty was treated as admissible where the final price for supplies was fixed after removal of the goods for the relevant period, and the Tribunal distinguished this from a mere post-clearance reduction in price. It applied the principle that refund cannot be denied when the later settlement determines the actual sale price for goods already supplied, rather than revising an already concluded price downward after clearance. Buyer certificates also supported the conclusion that the duty burden had not been passed on. The refund claims were therefore allowed in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether refund of excise duty was admissible when the price for supplies was settled after removal of the goods and the later fixed price for the relevant year was lower than the earlier provisional price.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the distinction between a reduction in price after clearance and a subsequent settlement of the sale price for supplies already removed. The earlier rejection of refund relied on the principle that a post-clearance reduction in price does not alter the duty liability. However, the price here was not reduced after clearance; rather, the final price for the relevant supply period was fixed later, and the Tribunal treated this situation as falling within the line of decisions holding that refund cannot be denied in such circumstances. The certificates from the buyers also supported the absence of duty incidence being passed on.

Conclusion: The refund claims were held admissible and the appeals were allowed in favour of the assessee.

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