Customs refund limitation turns on actual office receipt, not later signature or register entry, for timeliness.

For limitation on a customs refund claim, the relevant date is the date the application was actually lodged in the Customs office, as shown by the office seal and acknowledgement. A later officer's signature date and the tapal register entry could not override proof of receipt in the office. On that basis, the refund application was treated as filed within the prescribed six-month period, the impugned order was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the original authority for decision on merits.

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Issues: Whether the refund application was filed within the prescribed period of six months by reckoning the date of receipt in the Customs office.

Analysis: The application bore the office seal and acknowledgement dated 22-8-1994. The later date of signature by the officer and the entry in the tapal register could not displace the date on which the claim was actually received in the office. For limitation purposes, the relevant date was the date of lodging of the claim in the office, not the date of the officer's signature.

Conclusion: The refund application was filed within time. The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the original authority for decision on merits.

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