CUSTOM&EXCISE&SERVICE TAX
Customs Duty On Vessels Fixed On Import Date, Not On Foreign To Coastal Run Conversion: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court recently held that customs duty on a vessel is fixed on the date of its import and cannot be reopened later merely because the vessel is converted from foreign-going to coastal run. The court said a later change in how the vessel is operated does not create a fresh tax liability. A bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Mummineni Sudheer Kumar said the date of import is the only point that matters for determining liability under the customs law. “The critical event in...
Barreled Bitumen Cost Included In Excise Valuation: CESTAT Ahmedabad
The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 22 January upheld the inclusion of the cost of barrels for bitumen sold from depots. It clarified that barrelled bitumen is different from bulk clearances from a refinery and therefore, the two cannot be treated the same.A Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh was examining whether the cost of barrels used for packing bitumen by Nayara Energy...
Tax Refund Must Be Determined By Nature of Service, Not Registration Mistake: CESTAT Ahmedabad
The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 23 January, set aside the rejection of a service tax refund claim filed by Dubond Infotech Private Limited, ruling that a clerical error in service tax registration cannot, by itself, defeat a refund claim for exported software development services. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh noted that the company had mistakenly obtained...
After Supreme Court Dismisses SLP, Delhi High Court Expresses Dissatisfaction Over Duty Drawbacks Withheld By Customs
The Delhi High Court has expressed dissatisfaction over the Customs Department's failure to implement its earlier judgment directing the release of duty drawback amounts to the petitioners, despite the Supreme Court having dismissed the Department's special leave petition (SLP).A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain was hearing a batch of writ petitions seeking implementation of the Court's judgment dated February 13, 2025. The earlier judgment had quashed CBIC...
Marine Feed Mixed With Vegetable Protein Attracts Higher Customs Duty: CESTAT Chennai
On 22 January, the Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that imports of marine feed mixed with vegetable protein attract higher customs duty as they are classifiable as formulated animal feed and not as simple fish or mollusc meal. A Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao upheld the reclassification of imported squid-based feed products under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 2309 as preparations for...
Raw Aluminium Cannot Be Reclassified As 'Motor Vehicle Parts' Based On End Use Alone: CESTAT Delhi
The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) recently set aside the re-classification of raw aluminium articles imported from Korea and Thailand as auto-parts solely on the basis of end use. On 21 January 2026, a Bench of Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya rejected the Department's attempt to classify imported aluminium tubes, pipes, and profiles as 'parts of motor vehicles'. The Tribunal held that merely because the imported...
Johnson Lifts Secures ₹1.24 Crore Relief As CESTAT Chennai Upholds Elevator Parts Classification
The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that lift and elevator parts imported by Johnson Lifts Pvt. Ltd. were correctly classifiable as “parts suitable for use solely or principally with lifts and escalators” under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 8431, which attracts a lower rate of customs duty. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Ajit Kumar set aside the department's differential customs duty demand exceeding...
CESTAT Delhi Quashes Service Tax Demand On Charitable Society Running Educational Activities
The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has allowed an appeal filed by a charitable society, holding that it cannot be subjected to service tax for educational and community development activities where fees or contributions are collected for charitable purposes, and the society had a bona fide belief it was exempt.A Bench of Judicial Member Binu Tamta and Technical Member Rajeev Tandon set aside Rs. 3.2 crores demand against a charitable society...
CESTAT Restores Custom Broker's Licence After Finding Revocation Based On Statements Not Admitted As Evidence
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at New Delhi has set aside the revocation of a customs broker licence granted to Global Links. The tribunal held that, on the facts of the case, the action could not be sustained, as it was based only on statements that were never admitted as evidence. A coram comprising President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P. V. Subba Rao found that the adjudicating authority relied on statements recorded during the investigation...
Amazon Data Hosting On Principal-to-Principal Basis Not Liable To Service Tax: CESAT Delhi
The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 19 January held that data hosting services provided by an Indian entity to an overseas cloud computing service provider on a principal-to-principal basis do not qualify as “intermediary services.” They constitute an export of service, and are therefore not liable to service tax in India. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Binu Tamta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya set aside service tax demands...
Unrecognised Courses Merely Facilitating Foreign Admission Are Liable To Service Tax: CESTAT Chennai
The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that programmes which merely facilitate admission to foreign universities, without conferring a degree recognised under Indian law, are liable to service tax. The Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao while hearing an appeal filed by the International School for Management Studies (ISMS) against the service tax demand held that its course did not lead to a...