https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=759619 Service tax paid without legal liability, whether under a mistake of fact or law, is treated as money paid by mistake rather than validly leviable duty. The Delhi High Court noted the consistent view of several High Courts that the department has no authority to retain such amounts, so the refund limitation in Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 does not govern a claim for return of money so paid. On that basis, Section 11B was held not to bar the refund claim, and the challenge to the refund order failed. en-us Fri, 30 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 05 Oct 2024 08:54:28 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=759619 Service tax paid without legal liability, whether under a mistake of fact or law, is treated as money paid by mistake rather than validly leviable duty. The Delhi High Court noted the consistent view of several High Courts that the department has no authority to retain such amounts, so the refund limitation in Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 does not govern a claim for return of money so paid. On that basis, Section 11B was held not to bar the refund claim, and the challenge to the refund order failed. Case-Laws Central Excise Fri, 30 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=759619