Provisional assessment refunds under Rule 9B(5) fall outside Section 11B and must be adjusted as credit.

Refund or adjustment arising on finalisation of provisional assessment under Rule 9B(5) was treated as part of the provisional assessment scheme and not as an refund claim under Section 11B. The Tribunal noted that excess duty paid on finalisation could be restored as credit in the assessee's current account or PLA, and that Section 11B applies only where a separate refund claim is filed after finalisation or the matter is reagitated. The lower orders were therefore unsustainable, and consequential relief followed by crediting the excess duty back to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the refund arising on finalisation of provisional assessment under Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was governed by Section 11B of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, and whether the assessee was entitled to credit or refund of the excess duty paid.

Analysis: The amount in dispute arose only because the provisional assessment was finalised and the duty provisionally assessed was found to be in excess of the duty finally assessed. The Tribunal noted that its earlier remand directions had not been complied with, and that the authorities had not examined the relevant Tribunal decisions which had held that excess duty paid on finalisation of provisional assessment could be taken as credit in the assessee's current account. The Tribunal further relied on the Supreme Court's exposition that recoveries or refunds consequent upon adjustment under Rule 9B(5) are not governed by Section 11A or Section 11B, and that Section 11B applies only where an independent refund claim is filed after the final decision under Rule 9B(5) or where the matter is reagitated.

Conclusion: The refund was not governed by Section 11B, the assessee was entitled to restoration of the excess amount as credit, and the lower orders could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the assessee obtained consequential relief by having the excess duty restored as credit in its PLA.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund or adjustment arising directly from the finalisation of provisional assessment under Rule 9B(5) stands outside Section 11B and must be given effect in accordance with the provisional assessment scheme itself.

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