CESTAT Kolkata Grants Refund for Education Cess and Higher Education Cess

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT KOLKATA allowed the appeals for the refund of Education Cess and Higher Education Cess paid along with excise duty for the period between September 2013 to March 2015. Relying on the precedent set by the Supreme Court in a similar case, the Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellants, granting them the refund. The appeals were allowed, and Cross Objections were disposed of accordingly by the Tribunal.

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Issues: Refund of Education Cess and Higher Education Cess paid along with excise duty.

Analysis:
The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT KOLKATA addressed the appeals filed against Order-in-Original No.23-25/COMM/CE/SLG/15-16 dated 8 January 2016 by the Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Siliguri. The central issue in these appeals pertained to the refund of Education Cess and Higher Education Cess paid along with excise duty for the period between September 2013 to March 2015.

During the arguments, both parties acknowledged that the matter was covered by the precedent set by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of SRD Nutrients Private Limited vs. CCE [2017 (TIOL) 416 (S.C.)]. The Supreme Court had ruled that if excise duty was exempted from levy, then the appellant was entitled to a refund of the education cess and higher education cess paid alongside the excise duty.

In line with the Supreme Court's ruling, the Tribunal allowed the appellant's claim for the refund of education and higher education cess. No additional grounds were presented by the Counsel during the arguments. As a result, the appeals filed by the appellants were allowed to the extent of the refund claim, and the Cross Objections were also disposed of accordingly.

The judgment was delivered by Hon'ble Shri P. K. Choudhary, Member (Judicial), and Hon'ble Shri Bijay Kumar, Member (Technical), in an open court session.

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