EXCISE
CESTAT Mumbai Remands CENVAT Credit Refund Claim Of Software Exporter For Fresh Adjudication
The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has allowed the Revenue's appeal and set aside an order granting a refund of unutilised CENVAT credit to Physician Interactive India Pvt. Ltd. The Tribunal has remanded the matter to the original adjudicating authority for fresh consideration. A Bench of Judicial Member S.K. Mohanty and Technical Member M.M. Parthiban held that the Commissioner (Appeals) failed to examine key factual issues bearing on the...
Electricity Supplied To State Board Not Eligible For CENVAT Credit: CESTAT Chandigarh
The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that a manufacturer is not entitled to CENVAT credit on fuel used to generate electricity that is wholly supplied to the State Electricity Board (SEB), even if an equivalent quantity of power is later received back through a synchronisation arrangement. A Bench of Judicial Member S.S. Garg and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar observed that since the electricity generated using the inputs was...
CESTAT Delhi Quashes Excise Demand Alleging Clandestine Production Based Solely On Electricity Consumption
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside a central excise demand against a supari manufacturer, holding that alleged clandestine manufacture and removal could not be sustained in this case when the department relied only on electricity consumption. A bench of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao rejected the department's approach, observing: “We are unable to accept this submission of the department. In our view, all that the...
Coal Royalty Includible For Excise Valuation, Other Statutory Levies Excluded: CESTAT New Delhi
The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has partly allowed a batch of appeals filed by South Eastern Coalfields Limited, holding that royalty collected on coal sales is includible in the assessable value for levy of central excise duty, but only for the normal period of limitation. The tribunal, however, set aside excise duty demands on other statutory levies and quashed the invocation of extended limitation, penalty and interest. A coram comprising...
CESTAT Cannot Reject Taxpayer Appeals Below ₹2 Lakh On Monetary Limit Alone: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court recently held that the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal cannot mechanically reject a taxpayer's appeal on the ground that the amount involved is below ₹2 lakh. The Court said such appeals are maintainable as a rule and may be refused only in exceptional cases.The ruling was delivered by a Division Bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajeet Shukla. Explaining the law, the bench said, "Thus, while appeals filed by the revenue, below the...
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...
CENVAT Refunds For Deemed Exports Barred After One Year from End of Claim Period: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court's Nagpur Bench has recently held that a refund claim for unutilised CENVAT credit linked to deemed exports must be filed within the one-year time limit prescribed under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, which governs refund claims under excise law. The court said this limitation applies even when the refund is sought under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, which allows exporters to seek a refund of credit that cannot be utilised. A Division Bench of Justice Anil L....
New Limitation Plea Without Records Not Maintainable Before CESTAT: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court dismissed an appeal filed by M/s Modern Engineering & Plastics Pvt. Ltd., holding that a plea on limitation cannot be raised for the first time before the Tribunal without supporting factual material on record. A Bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice P. Dhanabal observed that limitation under Section 11A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is a mixed question of law and fact, and cannot be examined by a court or tribunal in the absence of necessary evidence. The...
Branding Structures Installed At Indian Oil Fuel Stations Not Liable To Excise Duty: CESTAT
The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has recently held that branding and signage structures installed at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. fuel stations are not subject to central excise duty. These structures are known as Retail Visual Identity or RVI elements. They include monoliths, logos, directional signs and facility signs. The tribunal said the structures come into existence only at the site. Once installed, they become permanent. They...
Printing On Government-Supplied Watermarked Paper Does Not Attract Excise Duty: CESAT Bengaluru
The Bangalore Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that printing carried out on government-supplied watermarked paper for issuance of Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) does not attract central excise duty, and is classifiable under a nil-rated tariff entry. The Bench of Judicial Member Dr. D.M. Misra and Technical Member Pullela Nageswara Rao allowed the appeal filed by Samanthu Business Forms Pvt. Ltd., setting aside a duty demand of Rs....
Place Of Removal In FOR Sales Cannot Be Presumed As Factory Gate: CESTAT Chennai Reiterates
The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has reiterated that the “place of removal” in FOR (Free on Road or Rail) destination sales cannot be mechanically assumed to be the factory gate and must be determined on the basis of facts and contractual terms. The tribunal set aside and remanded a service tax order denying CENVAT credit on outward transportation services after finding that the tax authorities had confirmed the demand without examining...
