Refund claim for unutilized balance in PLA not hit by limitation of section 11B of Excise Act

Huhtamaki India Limited Vs Commissioner of Central Excise & ST (CESTAT Ahmedabad)

CESTAT Ahmedabad held that deposit in PLA is not a payment of duty. Accordingly, refund claim for unutilized balance in PLA is not hit by limitation of Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Facts- The issue involved in the present case is that whether the appellant’s refund of unutilized PLA balance is hit by limitation provided under Section 11B when the refund was claimed after one year from the date of deposit.

Conclusion- Held that the deposit in PLA is not a payment of duty whereas it is an advance deposit for future payment of duty. The PLA balance takes the color of duty only when duty payable is debited from the PLA balance. In the present case, undisputedly the PLA balance for which refund is sought for is out of advance deposit made by the appellant in PLA and out of that unutilized balance has been claimed as refund. Therefore, limitation of Section 11B is not applicable.

FULL TEXT OF THE CESTAT AHMEDABAD ORDER

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