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2020 (2) TMI 1166 - HC - Central ExciseRefund of CENVAT credit - rejection on the ground of limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 - Appellant/Assessee has submitted that the limitation prescribed under Section 11B of the Act does not apply when instead of claiming the refund in cash, the Assessee merely claims the restoration of the CENVAT credit - HELD THAT:- The Division Bench of Allahabad High Court in M/S KRISHNAV ENGINEERING LTD. VERSUS CUSTOMS, EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL AND ANOTHER [2015 (12) TMI 234 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] held in para 7 that where it is not a case of refund of duty but a case of reversal of an entry in the books relating to CENVAT credit, the limitation under Section 11B of the Act will not apply. The learned Tribunal has erred in applying the limitation of the Section 11B of the Act in the present case, where the refund of duty was not claimed in cash as such, but only by the restoration of CENVAT credit by the Assessee - When a debit to the CENVAT credit account could be treated as a mode of payment of duty at the time of removal of goods, we fail to understand how the limitation under Section 11B of the Act could be denied when only restoration of such claim is only by way of reversal of that debit entry only upon the returning such CENVAT Invoices and the vendors not having availed any CENVAT credit, being the undisputed facts. The learned Revenue authorities could not deny the adjustment entry of restoration of CENVAT credit in the present case irrespective of limitation. Rule 4(5)(a)(iii) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 is clear and it permits the Assessee to credit the CENVAT account book, if the goods are received back after 180 days. Therefore, in the face of a clear Rule permitting the said adjustment entry, merely because the Assessee made a claim in prescribed Form R under Rule 127, his claim of adjustment entry could not be refused by the authorities below. The appeal filed by the Assessee deserves to be allowed and the same is accordingly allowed - questions of law are answered in favour of the Assessee and against the Revenue.
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