Strict compliance with octroi declaration rules governs fiscal concession claims, and belated refund demands may be refused.

A fiscal concession under the Maharashtra Municipalities (Octroi) Rules, 1968 was available only on strict compliance with the prescribed declaration in Form 14, because the form enabled contemporaneous verification of the imported raw material's use in the industrial undertaking. Non-filing of that declaration meant the claimant could not later seek to prove entitlement through belated scrutiny of records, and the concession had to be availed in the manner prescribed. The commentary also notes that refund of octroi paid long earlier is not a matter of right and may be declined in discretion, so the refund claim failed for want of procedural compliance.

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Issues: Whether refund of octroi could be claimed despite non-filing of Form 14 under the Octroi Rules and whether such procedural non-compliance could be overlooked when the claim was made after a long delay.

Analysis: The concessional octroi rate under Rule 4(2) read with Part IA of Schedule II to the Maharashtra Municipalities (Octroi) Rules, 1968 was available only when the industrial undertaking filed the prescribed declaration in Form 14. The declaration was not a mere formality: it enabled the octroi authorities to verify at the relevant time whether the imported raw material was in fact used in the industrial undertaking. In the absence of that declaration, the authorities had no timely opportunity of verification, and the claimant could not later insist on a belated scrutiny of records to prove entitlement. The concession had to be availed when and in the manner prescribed. The Court distinguished earlier decisions where the procedural requirements had substantially been complied with or no further verification was necessary. It also held that refund of duty paid long back was not available as a matter of right and could be declined in the exercise of discretion.

Conclusion: The non-filing of Form 14 disentitled the petitioner to the concessional rate and to refund of the octroi claimed; the plea for refund was rejected.

Final Conclusion: A concession in octroi law is available only on strict compliance with the prescribed declaration and verification procedure, and a belated refund claim cannot succeed in the absence of such compliance.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a fiscal concession is made conditional upon filing a prescribed declaration to enable contemporaneous verification, non-compliance with that requirement prevents the claimant from later establishing entitlement through a belated refund claim.

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