The CESTAT, Chennai Bench in the matter of M/s International Seaport Dredging Pvt. Ltd v Commissioner of GST & Central Excise [Order no. 40249 of 2022 dated, June 17, 2022] set aside the impugned order pertaining to the rejection of refund of unutilized cenvat credit of Education Cess, Secondary and Higher Education cess (“SHEC”) and Krishi Kalyan cess (“KKC”) and has held that such rejection is not justified and assesses is entitled to file the refund claim.
Facts:
M/s International Seaport Dredging Pvt. Ltd. (“the Appellant”) is a registered company, engaged in providing dredging services, filed refund claim under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (“the Central Excise Act”) for the refund of unutilized cenvat credit availed on Education cess, SHEC and KKC and carried forward the same to TRAN-1 after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (“GST”). The Revenue Department (“the Respondent”) by an order (“the impugned order”) rejected the same holding that under Section 140 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the CGST Act”) refund can be sought only for eligible duties and such duties excludes refund of cess. Aggrieved by the impugned order, the Appellant filed an appeal before the Commissioner.
Issue:
- Whether the Appellant is eligible for refund of Education cess, SHEC and KKC lying unutilized in his Cenvat account?
Held:
The CESTAT, Chennai Bench in [Order no. 40249 of 2022 dated June 17, 2022] held as under:
- Relied upon, the judgement of CESTAT in the caseSchlumberger Asia Services Ltd. v. Commissioner of CE & ST [2021] in which it was held that the assessee is entitled to file the refund of Education Cess, SHEC and KKC and accordingly the refund claim is to be allowed subject to verification of the records.
- Further stated that, when GST Regime came in force, credit lying in account of assessee was allowed to be transferred to GST Regime. Also, credits earned were vested right and such right would not be extinguished with change of law unless there was specific provision which would debar such refund.
- Held that, the Appellant is entitled to file the refund claim and rejection of refund is not justified, accordingly, the impugned order is set aside.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are strictly of the author and A2Z Taxcorp LLP. The contents of this article are solely for informational purpose and for the reader’s personal non-commercial use. It does not constitute professional advice or recommendation of firm. Neither the author nor firm and its affiliates accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any information in this article nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Further, no portion of our article or newsletter should be used for any purpose(s) unless authorized in writing and we reserve a legal right for any infringement on usage of our article or newsletter without prior permission.
We have recently released the 7th Edition (May, 2022) of our book on Goods and Services Tax, titled, “GST LAW AND COMMENTARY – WITH ANALYSIS AND PROCEDURES”, updated with the Finance Act, 2022 in a set of 4 Volumes. We thank you all for the support and your enduring response.
Have a look at the complete tour of the Book at: https://cutt.ly/nF6O0oN
Order your copy now and be a part of the GST learning excursion in the most comprehensive and lucid form !!
For more details and purchase online at: https://cutt.ly/RFMox8D