Revenue Deposits Made Under Protest Cannot Be Treated As “Duty” For Limiting Interest: CESTAT Allahabad

The Allahabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 25 June held that excess amounts deposited under protest during provisional assessment cannot be treated as “duty” and remain revenue deposits until a duty liability is adjudicated. Judicial Member P. K. Choudhary allowed an appeal filed by Maa Vindhyavasini Tobacco Pvt. Ltd, set aside the impugned order, and directed the Department to recalculate interest at 12% per annum from the respective dates of...

CESTAT Bangalore Grants Customs Duty Exemption To Gem Granites For Quarry Machinery Used To Produce Export Goods

The Bangalore bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside an order denying customs and central excise duty exemptions to Gem Granites. It held that, in the facts of the case, imported capital goods used in quarry operations qualified for the exemption because the granite blocks extracted from the quarry were the basic raw material used to manufacture the export products. The bench of Judicial Member P.A. Augustian and Technical Member R. Bhagya Devi...

Industrial Promotion Subsidy Cannot Be Added To Excise Assessable Value: CESTAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has recently ruled that the Industrial Promotion Subsidy received by a taxpayer under the Maharashtra government's industrial incentive scheme cannot be added to the assessable value of goods for the purpose of levying Central Excise duty. A coram of Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member M.M. Parthiban observed that the subsidy was a state incentive linked to eligible capital investment and regional industrial...

CESTAT Hyderabad Remands Excise Duty Dispute After Retrospective Relief

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, has remanded an excise duty dispute involving supplies made to Indian Railways for fresh adjudication after finding that a retrospective exemption introduced through the Finance Act, 2015 could affect the basis on which the demand was confirmed. A coram of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi observed that the exemption covered the same period involved in the dispute. The tribunal therefore...

CESTAT Chennai Allows ICF Refund Claim, Holds Missing Batch Numbers Not Fatal Where Correlation Is Proven

On 18 June, the Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that refund of excess excise duty cannot be denied merely because invoices did not mention batch numbers, where the taxpayer establishes correlation through batch-costing records and contemporaneous documents. Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar allowed an appeal filed by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) against the Commissioner of Central Excise, holding that...

CESTAT Ahmedabad Bars Sugar Cess On Exported Sugar, Sets Aside ₹77.5 Lakh Demand

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 17 June held that authorities cannot levy sugar cess on sugar exported outside India, observing that statutory notifications expressly exempt exported sugar from such levy. Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh allowed the appeal filed by Shree Chalthan Vibhag Khand Udyog Sahakari Mandli Ltd. and set aside the demand of Rs.77.50 lakh along with interest...

CESTAT Mumbai Orders Interest On Delayed Refund Of Extra Duty Deposit Collected During SVB Probe

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that Vardhman Acrylics Limited is entitled to interest on the delayed refund of Extra Duty Deposit (EDD) collected during a Special Valuation Branch (SVB) investigation. The tribunal ruled that interest became payable because the refund was not granted within the prescribed period after the amount became refundable. A bench of Judicial Member S.K. Mohanty and Technical Member M.M. Parthiban allowed...

Sale Or Service Taxability Disputes Can Only Be Challenged Before Supreme Court: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has held that disputes involving whether a transaction constitutes a “sale of goods” or a “service” raise questions of taxability and are not maintainable under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, as such issues lie within the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Section 35L. A Division Bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda dismissed the appeal filed by the Commissioner of Central Tax & Customs against Zoom Technologies (India)...

Immovability Of Plant Does Not Bar CENVAT Credit On Duty-Paid Machinery: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 12 June held that manufacturers can avail CENVAT credit on duty-paid machinery, components and equipment used to set up an integrated plant even if the completed plant becomes immovable property. Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi and Judicial Member Angad Prasad allowed ITC Ltd.'s appeal, observing that ownership of the goods and their attachment to earth do not determine eligibility for credit and set...

ONGC Rebutted Unjust Enrichment Presumption, Entitled To ₹4.42 Crore OID Cess Refund: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has recently, in a case involcing ONGC held that the statutory presumption that duty incidence has been passed on stands rebutted where contractual documents, invoices, and independent certifications establish that the burden of duty was not passed on to the buyer. The ruling came while allowing Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.'s (ONGC) refund claim of ₹4.42 crore towards excess Oil Industry Development...

CESTAT New Delhi Holds CENVAT Credit Does Not Lapse If Other Dutiable Final Products Continue

On 18 May, the New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that CENVAT credit lying in balance does not lapse merely because some final products become exempt from excise duty, as long as other final products manufactured from the same inputs continue to attract duty. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar dismissed three Departmental appeals and upheld the order dropping demands exceeding Rs.22.88 crore against Sharp...

Rule 16 Does Not Require Return Of Remade Goods To Original Buyer To Avail CENVAT Credit: CESTAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 3 June held that CENVAT credit on duty-paid goods returned to a factory cannot be denied merely because the re-manufactured machine was supplied to a different customer and not to the buyer who had originally returned the goods. A Single Member Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati allowed the appeal filed by Grafica Flextronica and set aside a demand of Rs. 23.40 lakh along with interest...