Limitation under Section 11A kept part of the central excise demand alive for clearances made within the six-month period.

Central excise duty demand was not wholly barred by limitation under Section 11A. Applying the relevant six-month period to the facts, clearances made in December 1982, January 1983 and February 1983 were found to fall within time, so the earlier view treating the entire demand as time-barred was incorrect to that extent. The Revenue's challenge succeeded in part, limited to the portion of the demand relating to those in-time clearances.

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Issues: Whether the demand of central excise duty was wholly time-barred, and whether the clearances made in December 1982, January 1983 and February 1983 fell within the limitation period under Section 11A.

Analysis: The demand notice covered removals from August 1981 to February 1983. The adjudicating authority had treated the entire demand as barred by limitation. On the Revenue's appeal, the relevant date for computing the six-month period under Section 11A was applied to the facts, and the months of December 1982, January 1983 and February 1983 were found to fall within time. The earlier view that the entire demand was time-barred was therefore incorrect to that extent.

Conclusion: The demand was not wholly time-barred. The Revenue's appeal succeeded in part, and the duty demand relating to clearances made in December 1982, January 1983 and February 1983 was held to be within limitation.

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