Excise refund under Section 11B allowed where goods suffered duty twice and claim was filed within time.

Section 11B permits an excise refund claim to be filed before the Assistant Collector within six months, and the claim is not confined to the place where the second duty payment occurred. Where the same quantity of goods has suffered duty twice, refund cannot be refused merely because the assessee is asked to approach another jurisdictional officer. On the facts stated, the claim was filed within time from the initial duty payment, so the refund claim was entertainable and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim for duty paid on goods subsequently found to have suffered duty again at another place was maintainable before the Assistant Collector under Section 11B and within the prescribed limitation period.

Analysis: Section 11B permits a claim for refund of excise duty to be made to the Assistant Collector within six months and does not confine the claim to the place where the second payment of duty occurred. Where it is established that the same quantity of goods has suffered duty twice, the refund claim cannot be rejected merely on the ground that the assessee should approach another jurisdictional officer. The claim was also filed within time from the initial duty payment.

Conclusion: The refund claim was entertainable before the Assistant Collector, and the appeal succeeded in favour of the assessee.

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