RT-12 assessment cannot replace a statutory demand for differential duty where duty followed an approved classification and price list.

RT-12 returns under Rule 173G(3) are confined to checking whether duty has been paid in line with an approved classification and price list; they cannot replace a statutory demand for differential duty. Where the assessee paid duty pursuant to an approval already granted, and the Department disputed the underlying concession while the matter remained pending in appeal, the proper course was to issue notice under Section 11A. An RT-12 assessment could not be converted into a demand mechanism for the contested differential duty, and the demand raised through RT-12 was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the Department could raise a demand for differential duty in the RT-12 return when the assessee had paid duty in accordance with an approved classification and price list based on an appellate order, and whether such recovery could properly be pursued through RT-12 instead of a demand under Section 11A.

Analysis: RT-12 returns under Rule 173G(3) are meant to verify whether duty has been paid in accordance with the approved classification and price list. Where duty has been paid on the basis of an approval already granted, the return cannot be used as a substitute for issuing a statutory demand for differential duty. The Department's grievance was that the assessee was not entitled to the lower rate under Notification No. 197/79, but the benefit had been allowed by an appellate order and the matter was still pending before the Tribunal. In such a situation, if the Department sought to preserve its claim in the event of a reversal, the proper course was to issue notice under Section 11A. An RT-12 assessment could not be converted into a demand mechanism for the disputed differential duty.

Conclusion: The demand raised through RT-12 was not sustainable, and the Department's appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: RT-12 assessment cannot be used as a substitute for a statutory demand under Section 11A where duty has been paid in accordance with an approved classification and price list, even if the Department disputes the underlying concession and the issue is pending in appeal.

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