CESTAT allows refund of unutilized Cenvat credit for Education Cess under Section 142(3) CGST Act, bypassing Section 11B limits

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....The CESTAT allowed the appellant's appeal, setting aside the denial of refund of unutilized Cenvat credit relating to Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess discontinued post-2015. The Tribunal held that such credits, subsumed into Central Excise duty and eligible for transition to GST via the Trans-I Register, cannot be denied refund on the basis of limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act. It was clarified that Section 142(3) of the CGST Act mandates cash refunds notwithstanding Section 11B, except sub-section 11B(2). Therefore, the limitation period under Section 11B(1) does not apply to refund claims under the CGST Act. The Department's reliance on pre-GST limitation provisions was rejected, affirming the appellant's entitlement to cash refund under the GST framework.....