Payment of Secondary and Higher Education Cess under wrong account code

[SPIC Ltd.]

The Secondary and Higher Education cess (SHE CESS) has been introduced during the Budget 2007. When it was introduced, the accounting codes were not alloted and hence the SHE CESS was remitted mentioning 'Yet to be alloted' in the TR 6 Challan. The dept stated that the cess has been remitted under wrong accounting code and demanded the duty once again. The assessee argued by taking legal shelter under ST Circular 58/7/2003 dt. 20.05.03 and F. No. Coord/13-6/Head of A/c/06-07/Vol-VI/317 dt. 30.03.07. I need to know whether any judgment was pronounced on this subject matter by any appellate authorities in order to defend the case strongly.

AI Summary

SPIC Ltd. Challenges Demand for Repayment of SHE Cess Due to Initial Payment Under Incorrect Code; Cites 2008 Decision SPIC Ltd. raised a query regarding the payment of the Secondary and Higher Education Cess (SHE CESS) under an incorrect account code due to the absence of designated codes when the cess was introduced in the 2007 budget. The department demanded repayment, claiming the initial payment was under the wrong code. SPIC Ltd. cited specific legal circulars to defend their position and sought judgments from appellate authorities to support their case. A respondent, Surender Gupta, advised that repayment was unnecessary, referencing a 2008 decision by the CESTAT, Ahmedabad. SPIC Ltd. expressed gratitude for the guidance.