𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 – 𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗱: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟭𝗕 📢 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱: Payments during investigations without protest are excise duty, not deposits; refund claims beyond Section 11B's limitation are disallowed.

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆: M/s. John Energy Ltd. 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲: Whether a refund claim can be rejected on the ground of limitation if the payment was made during investigation without a formal protest. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: Refund claim for service tax paid during investigation was rejected as time-barred under Section 11B despite demand being set aside.

⚖️ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The Tribunal ruled that payments made during investigations without formal protest are treated as duty, not deposits. As the refund claim was filed beyond the limitation period under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944, it was deemed time-barred, following the precedent set in Ajni Interiors.

📜 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: M/s. John Energy Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Service Tax – Service Tax 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 8 December 2022 📜 This ruling emphasizes that refund claims must adhere to the statutory time limits under Section 11B, even if the original demand is set aside.