Credit for cancelled gate passes allowed without separate refund claim where duty debit was duly disclosed in returns.

Credit of duty paid on cancelled gate passes was allowable under the Central Excise Rules where the cancellation was promptly intimated to the department, the original and triplicate copies were returned, and the RT-12 returns clearly recorded the duty debit. On those facts, proviso (vii) to Rule 173G(2) applied, and Rule 173-I required the assessing officer to examine whether the debit reflected excess payment and to grant the corresponding credit. A separate refund claim was not required, and the six-month refund limitation under Section 11A did not govern the claim. The absence of a specific request in the RT-12 return was therefore not fatal.

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Issues: Whether credit of duty paid on cancelled gate passes could be allowed under the rules without a separate refund claim or specific request in the RT-12 return, and whether the limitation period for refund under Section 11A applied.

Analysis: The cancelled gate passes were intimated to the department immediately, the original and triplicate copies were returned, and the RT-12 returns contained clear endorsements showing the duty debit in respect of the cancelled gate passes. On these facts, the case fell within proviso (vii) to Rule 173G(2) of the Central Excise Rules. Rule 173-I required assessment after such enquiry as necessary, and once the relevant facts were before the assessing officer, there was an obligation to examine whether the debit represented excess payment and to allow the corresponding credit. Since the rule itself permitted credit for cancelled gate passes, no separate refund claim was necessary and the six-month limitation for refund under Section 11A did not govern the claim.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the credit, the absence of a separate request in the RT-12 return was not fatal, and the refund-limitation objection was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The departmental appeal failed and the order allowing credit in respect of the cancelled gate passes was maintained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where duty paid on cancelled gate passes is promptly intimated to the department and the relevant returns disclose the debit, credit under the excise rules must be allowed without insisting on a separate refund claim or invoking refund limitation.

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