Ocean freight

[Rajalakshmi Kesavan]

We the manufacturing company paid ocean freight For import under Rcm after excise audit verification in September '18. Instead of paying Kkc and SBC .05percent we paid. 5percent both as per excise auditor calculation. But for ocean freight KKC and SBC is. 05%. We paid under service tax head other taxable service . Can we claim refund for service tax and excess paid in Kkc & SBC. Kindly clarify . Thanks &Regards - Rajalakshmi

[Kishan Barai]

Refund of Ocean Freight would be available only in case id exports, but not imports.

[Rajalakshmi Kesavan]

Thanks for your reply. Sir, we have paid ocean freight for the period 23.04.17 to 30.06.17 after gst and transition period over, as we have received notice in September 2018 only. Regards - Rajalakshmi

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Under gst, the importer is liable to pay GST on ocean freight under reverse charge basis.

AI Summary

Manufacturing Firm Denied Refund for Overpaid Service Tax on Import Ocean Freight; Refunds Only for Exports A manufacturing company inquired about claiming a refund for service tax and excess payments made under Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) and Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC) on ocean freight for imports. They mistakenly paid 5% instead of the required 0.5% after an excise audit. A response clarified that refunds for ocean freight are applicable only for exports, not imports. Another reply noted that under GST, importers must pay GST on ocean freight via reverse charge. The company paid the charges post-GST transition due to a notice received in September 2018.