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2024 (6) TMI 781 - AT - Central ExciseIssues involved: Refund claims under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 - Unjust enrichment and limitation. Unjust Enrichment: The appellant, a manufacturer of petroleum products, claimed refund of duty paid at 7% rate for selling Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO) to non-PDS customers, while the manufacturers later paid duty at 14%. The Tribunal found that the appellant had passed the bar of unjust enrichment as they had paid excess duty of 7% which needed to be refunded to avoid double taxation. The Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) also supported this view in a previous order. Limitation: The Tribunal referred to a previous case where it was held that the limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act would not be applicable if an amount was paid under a mistaken notion and was refundable. In the present case, the Tribunal held that the refund claims were not barred by limitation as the duty paid by the appellant, which was not payable by them, should be refunded without any time limit. The appellant succeeded on the issue of limitation. Conclusion: The impugned orders denying the refund claims were set aside, and the appeals were allowed with consequential relief. The Tribunal held that the appellant had passed the bar of unjust enrichment and the refund claims were not barred by limitation, in line with the legal principles discussed in previous cases.
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