https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=24937 Excise duty collected without authority of law was held recoverable by the payer because the payment was made under a mistake of law and the doctrine of unjust enrichment could not justify retention by the State. Section 72 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 supported restitution of money paid by mistake. The civil suit for refund was also not barred by the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 or the refund machinery under that statute, because rejection of an earlier refund application as time-barred did not oust civil court jurisdiction. The suit was therefore maintainable and refund was decreed in favour of the assessee. en-us Tue, 15 Sep 1987 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:54:19 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=24937 Excise duty collected without authority of law was held recoverable by the payer because the payment was made under a mistake of law and the doctrine of unjust enrichment could not justify retention by the State. Section 72 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 supported restitution of money paid by mistake. The civil suit for refund was also not barred by the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 or the refund machinery under that statute, because rejection of an earlier refund application as time-barred did not oust civil court jurisdiction. The suit was therefore maintainable and refund was decreed in favour of the assessee. Case-Laws Income Tax Tue, 15 Sep 1987 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=24937