Refund limitation under excise law runs from assessed duty payment, not a provisional PLA debit before final assessment.

For refund under Section 11B of the Central Excises and Salt Act, limitation runs from payment of assessed duty, not from a mere debit in the PLA made before final assessment is completed. The excise scheme treated the assessee's self-determination as provisional until approval of the classification list, price list, and RT-12 assessment by the proper officer. Because Section 11B did not treat the PLA debit date as the relevant date, a refund application filed before approval of the classification list could not be time-barred. Excess duty arising from later approval of exemption remained refundable or adjustable consequentially.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim was barred by limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, and whether debit in the PLA could be treated as payment of duty for computing the period of limitation.

Analysis: The refund provision was held to apply to assessed duty and not to amounts merely deposited or adjusted by the assessee before completion of the statutory assessment process. The scheme of the Central Excise Rules showed that the assessee's determination under the relevant rules was only provisional until approval of classification, price list, and completion of RT-12 assessment by the proper officer. Since Section 11B did not make the date of PLA debit the relevant date, limitation could not begin from that date. As the classification list had not been approved when the refund application was filed, the claim could not be treated as time-barred. The later approval of exemption also supported the view that excess duty, if any, was refundable or adjustable consequentially.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not time-barred, and the assessee succeeded on the limitation issue.

Final Conclusion: The rejection of refund was set aside, and the matter was sent back for consideration of the refund claim on merits with appropriate credit, adjustment, or refund.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purpose of Section 11B, limitation for refund runs from the date of payment of assessed duty, not from a mere PLA debit made before final assessment is completed.

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