Refund of Education Cess Denied: CGST Act's Transitional Provisions Exclude Cesses from Eligible Duties for Credit.

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....Refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess (SHE Cess) under the transitional provisions of the CGST Act, 2017. The key points are: Cess is a tax levied for a specific purpose, in this case, education. The definition of 'eligible duties and taxes' u/s 140 of the CGST Act excludes cesses, making them ineligible for transitional credit. Unutilized cesses cannot be transitioned through TRAN-1 and shall lapse as per the transitional provisions. Section 11B of the Central Excise Act and Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules do not provide for refund of such cesses. The Tribunal held that equity or hardship cannot influence fiscal laws without statutory backing. Mere accounting entry of cess credits in the electronic ledger does no.........