MADRAS RUBBER FACTORY LTD. vs THE UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

The Supreme Court ruled that under Section 27(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, applications for refund of customs duty must be filed within six months from the date of payment. The Court held that the delay in filing the refund applications, which ranged from one to four months, was not justified, leading to the dismissal of the applications by the Assistant Collector and the Central Government. The Court upheld the lower authorities' decisions, affirming that strict adherence to the statutory time limit is essential for refund claims.