In Brief
This case concerns the recovery of an erroneous refund of excise duty granted to a textile manufacturer. The central issue was whether the Revenue must issue a separate notice under Section 11A of the Central Excise Act to recover duty when an order granting refund is reviewed and set aside under Section 35E. The Supreme Court held that once a refund order is set aside under Section 35E within the prescribed time limit, no separate Section 11A notice is required. Sections 35E and 11A operate in different fields with different time limits; reading them otherwise would render Section 35E ineffective. The Court overruled the High Court and Tribunal, restoring the Commissioner's order denying the refund.
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