D-3 intimation under Rule 173L cannot replace a refund claim, and late filing beyond the limitation period is barred.

A D-3 intimation under Rule 173L is only a verification notice for returned goods and cannot be treated as a refund claim under Section 11B. Rule 173L permits refund in cases where goods are returned for remaking, refining or reconditioning, but the refund application must still satisfy the statutory requirement of being filed before the Assistant Collector within six months from the relevant date. Because the D-3 intimation serves a different purpose and does not substitute for a refund application, a claim filed after the six-month period is barred by limitation. Authorities dealing with Rule 56A were distinguished as concerning a different credit scheme.

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Issues: Whether the filing of D-3 intimation under Rule 173L could be treated as a refund claim so as to satisfy the limitation requirement under Section 11B, and whether the refund claim filed after six months from receipt of the goods in the factory was barred by limitation.

Analysis: Rule 173L was treated as a special exception permitting refund in cases of returned goods to be remade, refined or reconditioned, but it did not itself prescribe the refund procedure. The refund claim had therefore to conform to the substantive requirement of Section 11B, which requires a claim to be filed before the Assistant Collector within six months from the relevant date. The D-3 intimation served a different statutory purpose, namely enabling verification of the returned goods by the proper officer, and could not be equated with a refund application. The decisions cited on Rule 56A were held distinguishable because they dealt with proforma credit and procedural compliance under a different scheme.

Conclusion: The D-3 intimation did not amount to a refund claim under Section 11B, and the claim having been filed beyond the prescribed six months was barred by limitation.

Ratio Decidendi: A D-3 intimation under Rule 173L is only a verification intimation and cannot substitute for a refund claim required to be filed under Section 11B within the statutory limitation period.

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