Education cess applies to oil cess under the Finance Acts, as the statutory scheme was treated as distinct and broader.

Education cess and secondary and higher education cess were held leviable on oil cess charged under Section 15 of the Oil Industries (Development) Act, 1974. The Rajasthan HC reasoned that the Finance Act charging provisions applied to the aggregate of duties of excise levied and collected under the Central Excise Act or any other law in force, and that the oil cess fell within a distinct statutory scheme. It distinguished the Gujarat precedent on the Sugar Cess Act because the Oil Industries (Development) Act had a different framework, including credit to the Consolidated Fund of India and discretionary utilisation by the Central Government. The assessee's challenge therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether education cess and secondary and higher education cess were leviable on oil cess charged under Section 15 of the Oil Industries (Development) Act, 1974 under Section 93 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004 and Section 138 of the Finance Act, 2007.

Analysis: The charging provisions in the Finance Acts created cess on the aggregate of all duties of excise levied and collected by the Central Government in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) under the Central Excise Act, 1944 or any other law for the time being in force. The oil cess under the Oil Industries (Development) Act, 1974 was held to be a duty of excise within a statutory scheme distinct from the Sugar Cess Act considered in the Gujarat decision relied upon by the Tribunal. The Court distinguished that precedent on the ground that the Oil Industries (Development) Act contained a materially different framework, including credit of the duty into the Consolidated Fund of India and the Central Government's discretion regarding utilisation under Section 16. On that construction, the cess under the Finance Acts could be levied on the oil cess also.

Conclusion: Education cess and secondary and higher education cess were held leviable on the oil cess, and the assessee's challenge failed.

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