Refund of Deposits: attested xerox payment challans suffice for full refund with statutory interest despite missing bank records.

Where an appellate order produces a consequential refund claim and the assessee submits attested xerox copies of payment challans, denial of full refund solely because the department cannot retrieve original bank/TR-6 records is unsustainable; the administrative circular treats attested xerox copies as sufficient and places verification responsibility on the department, so the assessee is entitled to refund of the full deposited amount with statutory interest under the applicable provision, and the partial allowance limiting refund to a fixed percentage is set aside.

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Issues: Whether the appellant is entitled to refund of the entire deposit of Rs. 28,60,546/- (including pre-deposit) with interest under the statutory provisions and Circular, or only to a refund limited to 7.5% of the amount involved in the appeal as held by the Commissioner (Appeals).

Analysis: The appellate tribunal order setting aside the adjudicating orders produced a consequential refund claim. The refund claim was partially rejected on the ground that original bank/TR-6 records were not legible or available and the department could not verify payments from bank records. The applicable circular provides that attested xerox copies of documents evidencing payment suffice for refund processing and places responsibility on the department to maintain records to facilitate verification of deposits. The adjudicating authority's reliance on non-availability of bank records, despite submission of self-attested xerox challans and the tribunal's earlier order in favour of the appellant, does not negate entitlement to refund where the department has failed to maintain verification records.

Conclusion: The appellant is entitled to refund of the entire deposited amount of Rs. 28,60,546/- along with applicable interest under Section 35FF of the Central Excise Act, 1944; the impugned partial allowance limiting refund to 7.5% is set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an appellate order entitles an assessee to refund and the assessee furnishes attested xerox copies of payment challans, denial of full refund on the sole ground of the department's inability to retrieve bank records is not sustainable; the department must maintain records and attested copies suffice for refund with interest under the statute and administrative circular.

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