Refund of amount deposited during Audit - The payment made by...

Refund of amount deposited during Audit - The payment made by the appellant at the time of audit, in absence of any SCN for the same, cannot be held to be the payment against the demand raised by the Department without even going into the merits of the nature of demand - In light of the above discussed mandate of section 11A of CEA and the absence of the requisite SCN the amount got deposited at the instance of audit team is liable to be refunded to the appellant. Whenever an amount is to be refunded in terms of section 11AA, 11BB, 11DD and 11AB of the Excise Act, an interest at the rate which varies from 6% to 18% has to be granted. - AT