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...

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...

CESTAT New Delhi Allows CENVAT Credit On Ore Crushing Services Used In Manufacturing Process

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi on 5 June 2026 held that services used for crushing mined iron ore and removing unwanted material before the ore reaches the factory qualify as “input services” for CENVAT credit, as they directly connect with the manufacturing process. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P. V. Subba Rao allowed the appeal filed by Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd. and set aside the demand, interest,...

New Delhi CESTAT Bars Reclassification Of Product To Zarda After Years Of Acceptance As Chewing Tobacco

The New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 2 June held that the Department cannot reclassify a product after consistently accepting its classification for several years through departmental orders, and consequently set aside an excise duty demand arising from such reclassification. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya allowed appeals filed by Rajasthan-based manufacturer Rajan Jhiriwal and its partners, and set...

CESTAT New Delhi Rejects CENVAT Credit Denial For Invoice Defects, Allows Jayaswal NECO Appeal

On 2 June, the New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that authorities cannot deny CENVAT credit merely on the basis of procedural defects in invoices when the recipient has actually received and used the services in its business operations. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya allowed the appeal filed by Jayaswal NECO Industries Ltd. and set aside the denial of CENVAT credit of Rs. 53.94 lakh. The Tribunal also...

CESTAT Delhi Sets Aside Order Treating Post-August 1995 Paper Products Transfers As Inter-State Sales

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has held that paper products transferred by Shree Karthik Papers Ltd. to agents in Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, and West Bengal after August 1, 1995 were consignment sales and not inter-State sales. The tribunal set aside a Tamil Nadu Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal order that had restored assessment on a turnover of ₹1.51 crore by treating the transactions as inter-State sales. A bench of President...