Suspense account deposits in an excise dispute were treated as creditable deposits, not duty refund claims under Section 11B.

Amounts paid during an ongoing excise dispute and retained in a suspense account pending final assessment were treated as deposits or security, not duty paid on any specific clearance. Because the sums were not reflected as excise duty on clearance documents and were paid after the goods had been cleared, Section 11B refund restrictions, including the requirement relating to passing on of duty, did not apply. The excess amount could therefore be credited to the assessee's PLA, and the direction to proceed under Section 11B was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the amounts deposited in a suspense account pending finalisation of assessment were duty payments requiring refund under Section 11B, or mere deposits on finalisation of assessment that could be credited to the assessee's PLA.

Analysis: The amounts were paid pursuant to directions during an ongoing dispute and were kept in a suspense account pending final determination of liability. They were not linked to any specific clearance, were not reflected as duty on excise documents, and were paid much after the goods had been cleared. The amounts thus functioned as a deposit or security for eventual duty liability rather than as duty itself. Since the sums were not duty paid on any particular clearance, the refund restrictions and procedure under Section 11B, including the condition relating to passing on of duty, did not apply.

Conclusion: The amounts were held to be deposits and not duty. The assessee was entitled to take credit of the excess amount in the PLA, and the order requiring recourse to Section 11B was set aside.

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