Flourish Sales' imports were being provisionally assessed pending a verification that the department was carrying out. Upon completion of the…

Flourish Sales received an order finalizing provisional assessment on the basis of a verification report, and requiring payment of 12lakh. They did not contest this order, but made the payment, and allowed the appeal period of sixty days to lapse. After appeal became time-barred they filed a claim for refund in which they challenged the order. This was a backdoor method of seeking relief against the order; it also asked an officer of the same rank to review the order passed; and it sought to bypass the time limitation for appeal by presenting the appeal as a claim for refund. The Supreme Court has held, in the case of Priya Blue Industries Limited, 2004 (172) ELT 145 (SC), that such a refund claim is not permissible for all these reasons. A person who is aggrieved with an assessment order cannot seek refund without filing an appeal against the assessment order.