Gujarat High Court Quashes ₹41.53 Cr Excise Notice Against Jindal Saw, Backs Finality Of HPC Certificates

The Gujarat High Court on 15 July quashed a Rs. 41.53 crore central excise recovery notice issued to Jindal Saw Ltd., holding that the Commissioner of Central Excise had no jurisdiction to question eligibility certificates issued by the High Powered Committee under the exemption notification. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati held that allegations of fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining such certificates could only be examined by the statutory committee that...

CESTAT Delhi Upholds Inclusion Of Downloaded Software Licence Value In Imported Dongles' Customs Value

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has upheld the inclusion of the value of software licences downloaded from the internet in the assessable value of imported hardware locks (dongles). It held that the downloaded software formed an integral part of the imported product and that its value formed part of the transaction value.A coram of Officiating President Dr. Rachna Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya dismissed the...

CESTAT Kolkata Sets Aside Interest Demand On Dalmia Cement's Capital Goods Imported Under MOOWR Scheme

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside the interest demand raised against Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. on customs duty paid while clearing imported capital goods from its bonded warehouse. The tribunal held that interest could not be demanded merely because the goods were cleared for home consumption without being put to use, where they had been imported with the intention of being used in manufacturing.Relying on Supreme Court...

Procedural Lapse Cannot Defeat Excise Exemption Benefit When Notification Is Silent: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 20 July held that the Department cannot deny an excise exemption merely because a manufacturer did not intimate the jurisdictional Central Excise authorities before clearing goods without payment of duty when the exemption notification does not impose such a requirement. A Single Member Bench comprising Technical Member K. Anpazhakan allowed the appeal filed by Power Tools and Accessories and set aside the...

CESTAT Mumbai Allows YRF Studios' CENVAT Credit On Studio Repair and Renovation Works

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has recently allowed YRF Studios to claim CENVAT credit on service tax paid for repair, renovation, and strengthening works carried out on its existing studio buildings. It held that the services were used for maintaining infrastructure from which the company's taxable output services were provided and were not covered by the exclusion applicable to construction services.The appeal was decided by Technical Member...

Service Tax Refund For SEZ Can't Be Denied If Services Were Used For Authorised Operations: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) unit cannot be denied a refund of service tax merely because the services were not consumed within the geographical limits of the SEZ, so long as they were used for authorised operations. A single-member tribunal of Technical Member Rajeev Tandon allowed an appeal filed by ATC Tires Private Limited. "It is clear from a bare reading of Section 26(1)(e) that the...

Madras High Court Upholds 2014 Notification Granting Pan-India Powers To DGCEI Officers In Service Tax Cases

The Madras High Court has upheld a 2014 notification that authorised officers of the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (now the Directorate General of GST Intelligence) to investigate service tax cases and issue show cause notices across India, regardless of where the taxpayer was located. The court held that the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) was empowered to confer all-India jurisdiction on Central Excise officers through notifications issued under the Finance...

Karnataka High Court Holds CESTAT Must Decide Limitation Plea Before Remanding Excise Matter

The Karnataka High Court on 2 July held that the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) must decide a specifically pleaded limitation objection before remanding an excise dispute for adjudication on merits, as accepting the limitation plea could make further proceedings unnecessary. A Division Bench of Justices S.G. Pandit and Rajesh Rai K. disposed of the appeal filed by Lotus Printers Private Limited and directed CESTAT to decide the limitation issue while keeping its...

CESTAT Delhi Allows Pharma Company's ₹70 Lakh Refund, Holds Claim Not Hit By Unjust Enrichment

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has allowed a pharma company's appeal and held that its refund claim of about ₹70 lakh was not hit by unjust enrichment, setting aside orders directing the amount to be credited to the Consumer Welfare Fund.The ruling was delivered by a tribunal comprising Judicial Member Binu Tamta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao.Vivek Pharmachem India Ltd., which manufactures medicaments, had availed CENVAT credit of about ₹70 lakh...

CENVAT Credit Rules Do Not Make Ownership Of Goods A Condition For Availing Credit: CESTAT Chandigarh

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the CENVAT Credit Rules do not make ownership of goods a condition for claiming CENVAT credit. It observed that CENVAT credit is attached to inputs and not to persons. The tribunal, however, ruled that a manufacturer cannot claim credit on inputs where the contractor has availed the benefit of abatement under the Works Contract (Composition Scheme), as that would result in the same tax benefit...

CESTAT Delhi Upholds CENVAT Credit Reversal On Common Services Used For Own Investments

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has upheld the demand for proportionate reversal of CENVAT credit on common input services used for both taxable services and an assessee's own investment activities. The tribunal held that buying and selling securities on one's own account is neither a taxable service nor an exempted service. It ruled that CENVAT credit attributable to such activities is inadmissible. A bench of Judicial Member...

Customs Duty Exemption Available For ELISA Kits Cannot Be Claimed By Individual Components: CESTAT Delhi

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has recently held that QFT Tubes, though functionally used with ELISA kits, are not entitled to the concessional 5% Basic Customs Duty (BCD) available to ELISA kits. ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) is a diagnostic testing method used to detect diseases by analysing blood samples.It held that the exemption applies only to the complete diagnostic kit and not to its individual...