TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (9) TMI 1270
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....e nature of writ of mandamus directing the respondents to release the refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education (SHE) Cess along with applicable interest in compliance with the judgment passed by the Custom Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal ["CESTAT"], Chandigarh. 2. Briefly stated, the facts leading to the filing of the instant petition are that the petitioner is engaged in the manufacturing of goods falling under Chapter heading 38 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1962 and is holding GST Registration vide GSTIN No. 01AAACC7852K1ZR. Allured by the package of incentives declared by the Government of India to promote industrial development in Jammu & Kashmir, which included exemption from the payment of excise or additio....
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....nded, and was availing the refund of excise duty paid in cash. There is, however, a dispute with regard to the refund of education cess and secondary and higher education cess payable in addition to the excise duty. 5. The issue as to whether the education cess and secondary and higher education cess is also a duty of excise, came up for consideration before a two-Judge Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati, (2018) 1 SCC 105. In the judgment delivered on 10.11.2017, Hon'ble Supreme held that the levy of the cesses is in the nature of surcharge and when the primary tax i.e. the basic Excise Duty itself is exempted, such additional levies like the cesses also c....
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....petitioner approached the respondents vide reminder letter dated 04.01.2024 with a request to release the refund of education cess and secondary and higher education cess. Another letter was served upon the respondents on 7th May, 2024 with the same request. 9. When repeated requests and reminders made by the petitioner to the respondents did not yield any fruitful results, instant petition was filed seeking a mandamus to the respondents to perform their statutory duty of refunding the education cess and secondary and higher education cess to the petitioner in compliance with the judgment(s) passed by the CESTAT as upheld by a Division Bench of this Court. 10. The relief prayed for in the writ petition is sought by the petitioner on t....
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....the orders passed by the respondents rejecting the claim of the petitioner for refund of education and secondary & higher education cess have been set aside by the CESTAT vide final order dated 06.03.2018 passed in Appeal Nos. E/53252/2015 to E/53259/2015 titled Coromandel International Ltd. v. C.C.E. and S.T. Jammu & Kashmir and final order No. A/60981-60993/2018-EX[DB] dated 08.03.2018 in Appeal Nos. E/53252/2015 to E/53259/2015 titled Coromandel International Ltd. v. C.C.E. & S.T. Jammu & Kashmir. The CESTAT has held the petitioner entitled to the refund claim pertaining to education and secondary & higher education cess. 14. Undoubtedly, the CESTAT passed its judgment placing reliance upon a judgment of the Supreme Court dated 10.11.....
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....nsel appearing for the Revenue that the ruling given by the Supreme Court in SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd's case (supra) was contrary to the judgment previously rendered by a three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the case of Union of India and others v. Modi Rubber Limited, (1986) 4 SCC 66 and that subsequently Hon'ble the Supreme Court overruled the judgment passed in SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd case (supra) in a decision rendered in M/s Unicorn Industries v. Union of India and others, (2020) 3 SCC 492 and, therefore, the judgment passed in SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd (supra) was per incuriam and was not accepted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Rejecting the aforesaid argument, Hon'ble Supreme Court also dismissed the miscellaneous application filed by ....
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....the case of M/s Saraswati Agro Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (supra). The judgment passed by the CESTAT following M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. (supra) has long back attained finality when it was upheld by the Division Bench of this Court while dismissing a bunch of appeals vide its order and judgment dated 23rd May, 2022. 20. The respondents do not deny the legal and factual position, but would submit that in view of the pendency of the miscellaneous application No. 2043-2052 of 2020 seeking once again modification of the judgment dated 10.11.2017 passed in M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. (supra), this Court should defer its consideration. 21. Without commenting upon the merits of the miscellaneous application, which is pending consideration of the ....