Provisional assessment must fully adjust excess duty and short levy before finalisation, with refund claims considered fairly.

On finalisation of a provisional assessment, the assessing authority must compare the duty provisionally assessed with the duty finally assessed and adjust both short levy and any excess duty refundable to the assessee. The exercise cannot be one-sided: an order that ignores the assessee's claim for excess payment during part of the relevant period is unsustainable. The authority must verify the calculations, consider the refund element, and grant a personal hearing before fresh determination.

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Issues: Whether, on finalisation of a provisional assessment, the proper officer was required to adjust both the duty provisionally paid and any amount refundable to the assessee, and whether the assessment order was sustainable when the excess payment aspect was ignored.

Analysis: Rule 9B(5)(2) required the proper officer, on finalisation of provisional assessment, to compare the duty provisionally assessed with the duty finally assessed and to grant refund where excess duty had been paid or raise a demand where duty fell short. The assessment authority had to conduct the entire adjustment exercise and could not ignore the amount that was payable back to the assessee. Since the impugned order did not take account of the assessee's claim for excess duty paid during part of the relevant period, it could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The order was unsustainable and was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was allowed and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration after granting the assessee an opportunity of personal hearing and verification of the calculations.

Ratio Decidendi: On finalisation of a provisional assessment, the assessing authority must adjust the entire provisional duty against the duty finally assessed, including any excess payment refundable to the assessee, and cannot determine short levy in a one-sided manner.

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