Refund limitation under section 11B runs from duty payment, and a pre-final-classification claim is not premature when payment is provisional.

Refund claims under section 11B are not barred by limitation where duty was paid while a classification dispute remained unsettled, because the relevant date cannot precede payment of duty. A refund application filed before final approval of classification is not premature if the duty payment is treated as provisional until classification is finalised. Since the earlier authorities rejected the claim only on limitation and did not examine the merits, the claim was held maintainable and was required to be decided on merits by the Assistant Commissioner.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim was barred by limitation under section 11B when duty had been paid while the classification dispute was still pending, and whether such a claim could be treated as premature.

Analysis: The claim for refund was filed after duty had been paid on goods which were later held eligible for exemption, and the relevant classification had not yet been finally approved. The limitation in section 11B runs from the relevant date, and the judgment held that none of the prescribed relevant dates can precede payment of duty. The fact that the refund application was made before final approval of the classification did not invalidate it, since the payment had to be treated as provisional until the classification was finalised. The earlier authorities had rejected the claim only on limitation and had not examined it on merits.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not barred by limitation and was maintainable; the matter was directed to be decided on merits by the Assistant Commissioner.

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