Procedural defect in Modvat refund claim cannot defeat admissible credit where exports are undisputed and quarter is corrected.

Refund of accumulated Modvat credit could not be refused merely because the claim was filed for the wrong quarter where the exported goods were undisputedly shipped. Although the notification under Rule 57F(3) required the claim to be made in the next quarter, that timing defect was only procedural because the credit would have been admissible in the proper quarter. The claim could therefore be corrected by filing it in the appropriate quarter, and the refund already sanctioned was not liable to be recovered.

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Issues: Whether refund of accumulated Modvat credit could be denied merely because the claim was made for the wrong quarter, even though the exported goods were admittedly shipped.

Analysis: The refund claim was technically required to be made in the next quarter under the notification issued under Rule 57F(3) of the Central Excise Rules. However, the exported goods were not in dispute, and the amount would in any event be admissible in the proper quarter. The defect was therefore only procedural and could be corrected by filing the claim in the appropriate quarter.

Conclusion: The refund could not be denied on this procedural ground and the amount already sanctioned was not liable to be recovered.

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