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2014 (6) TMI 26 - HC - Central ExciseArea based exemption - Refund of duty paid through PLA - unit located in Kutch - Benefit of exemption notification no.39/2001 dated 31.7.2001 - Retrospective amendment in law - Held that:- petitioner's rebate claims though were rejected by the Assistant Commissioner on 8.3.2006 and 8.3.2007, according to the petitioner, such orders were never communicated to the petitioner company. The respondents have not accepted this aspect. However, in the affidavit in reply, it is stated that the office of the concerned Assistant Commissioner having been shifted in the year 2008, some of the documents were not traceable. It was therefore, not possible for the department to produce the proof of the service of the orders. Petitioner was never served with such orders. It was therefore, that when the law was changed to its retrospective effect by virtue of introduction of proviso to section 18 of the Central Excise Rules and enactment of section 88 of the Finance Act, 2008, that the petitioner labouring under the impression that rebate claims were still pending adjudication before the Assistant Commissioner, wrote on 14.5.2008 and requested that in view of such amendment, the rebate claims be sanctioned. It was on this application that the Assistant Commissioner passed various orders including one produced at Annexure-C dated 23.5.2008. All rebate claims which pertained to the period of 1.3.2002 to 7.12.2006 covered under the retrospective operation of the statutory provision, were granted. Law retrospectively amended must be applied to the rebate claims of the petitioner. It is undisputed that such retrospective amendment in the statute covered all rebate claims. Therefore, if the petitioner's rebate claims were pending either before the adjudicating authority or the appellate authority or the revisional authority, when such amendments were introduced, such amendments had to be applied to such pending proceedings. Resultant effect would be that rebate claims were granted. Merely because the petitioner was prevented from preferring such further proceeding on account of the orders passed by the adjudicating authority were not communicated to the petitioner, situation cannot change. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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