Refund Claims: Supreme Court Clarifies Interest Entitlement on Delayed Tax Refunds Beyond Statutory Time Limits.

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....Refund of service tax, interest on delayed sanction of refund, and time limitation u/s 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944, made applicable to service tax matters u/s 83 of the Finance Act, 1994. The authorities cannot alter the statutory time limit prescribed for considering refund applications. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has categorized refund claims into three heads: unconstitutional levy, illegal levy, and tax paid under mistake of law. Since the refund applications were filed beyond the stipulated one-year period, rejection of the claim by the Commissioner (Appeals) is in consonance with statutory provisions. However, the assessee-appellants are entitled to interest for the period computed from the expiry of three months from the date o.........