Refund of central excise duty: time-barred claims denied; refunds allowed only within statutory limitation and on claimants own victory

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....Refund of central excise duty claims contend that reversal/payment of CENVAT credit or discovery of mistake of law permits refund; Tribunal clarifies that where final products are excisable and duty relates to inputs, refunds are permissible only in accordance with the statutory refund regime and within the prescribed time limit for refund claims. An unconstitutional levy paid without statutory authority alone falls outside the time limit. A claimant must succeed in its own litigation to obtain refund based on mistake of law and cannot rely on orders in favour of another assessee. Consequently, time-barred refund claims beyond the prescribed period are not maintainable.....