Refund on returned duty-paid goods may be examined under Section 11B where double duty payment is shown on the same goods.

Refund of duty paid on returned goods may be maintainable where the same duty-paid goods are received back under verified declarations and duty is paid again on their subsequent clearance, creating an apparent double payment. The claim should not be rejected merely because the goods did not satisfy the process contemplated by Rule 173L; if the claim is filed within limitation and the evidence supports duplicate duty payment on the same goods, it must be examined as a refund claim under Section 11B. The matter was remanded for fresh decision on that basis.

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Issues: Whether refund was admissible where duty-paid goods were returned by the customer, received back under verified declarations, and duty was paid again on the same goods, and whether such refund claim had to be examined under Section 11B.

Analysis: The returned goods were admittedly the same duty-paid goods which had come back to the factory and were verified through D-3 declarations. When duty was paid again on their clearance, the payment became an apparent double payment on the same goods. In such a situation, the claim was not to be rejected merely because the goods had not undergone the process contemplated by Rule 173L; instead, where the claim was filed within the statutory time and the evidence showed double payment, the matter had to be considered as a refund claim under Section 11B.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held to be maintainable for consideration under Section 11B and the matter was remanded to the Assistant Collector for fresh decision.

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