Refund claim under Rule 173L must be considered after assessment finalisation, not rejected as premature while provisional.

A refund claim under Rule 173L could not be refused merely because the assessments were provisional. Once the assessments were finalised, the claim was no longer premature and had to be examined on its merits. The earlier refusal, based solely on the provisional nature of the assessments, was not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether a refund claim under Rule 173L could be taken up for sanction when the assessments were provisional and whether the claim could be considered after finalisation of the assessments.

Analysis: The refund claim was rejected below on the ground that, so long as the assessments remained provisional, the duty payable on the re-made, refined or re-conditioned goods could not be determined. The appellate record showed, however, that the assessments had since been finalised, and the refund claims were therefore no longer liable to be treated as premature for the purpose of consideration. Once the assessments ceased to be provisional, the authority was required to examine the refund claim on its merits.

Conclusion: The refund claim had to be considered after finalisation of the assessments, and the refusal to sanction it solely because the assessments were provisional was not sustained.

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