https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=43685 A statutory recovery provision allowing deduction of sums "payable" cannot be used to realise a demand that is already time-barred, because a barred claim is not legally recoverable. The provision operates only as a mode of collecting amounts lawfully due and does not revive an unenforceable debt. General debtor-creditor appropriation principles under the Contract Act do not apply to a statutory refund adjustment, especially where the assessee objects to the set-off. On that basis, the proposed deduction from the refund was unsustainable and the departmental adjustment could not be maintained. en-us Tue, 14 Sep 1982 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 19 Jun 2010 13:49:55 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=43685 A statutory recovery provision allowing deduction of sums "payable" cannot be used to realise a demand that is already time-barred, because a barred claim is not legally recoverable. The provision operates only as a mode of collecting amounts lawfully due and does not revive an unenforceable debt. General debtor-creditor appropriation principles under the Contract Act do not apply to a statutory refund adjustment, especially where the assessee objects to the set-off. On that basis, the proposed deduction from the refund was unsustainable and the departmental adjustment could not be maintained. Case-Laws Central Excise Tue, 14 Sep 1982 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=43685