Excise | No Suppression Where Credits Reflected In Statutory Returns; Extended Limitation Invalid; Indian Oil Petronas Wins CESTAT Appeal

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that when the availment of CENVAT credit is duly disclosed in statutory ER-1 returns and the assessee has regularly paid excise duty, allegations of suppression within the intent to evade duty cannot be sustained. P. Dinesha (Judicial Member) and Vasa Seshagiri Rao (Technical Member) stated that when the payment of duty remains undenied, and there is also no denial of the returns being filed by the...

Excise | Dietary Supplements Not Pharma Products, CESTAT Delhi Orders Recovery Of ₹1.63 Crore And Personal Penalty On Plant Head

The Delhi Bench, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that Dietary Supplements were not food products, not pharmaceuticals, hence not eligible for area-based excise exemption. A Bench comprising Smt. Binu Tamta (Judicial Member) and Shri. P.V. Subba Rao (Technical Member), dismissed the appeal filed by Pharmaceutical Company by upholding demand of ₹1.63 crore duty with interest as well as penalty equal to duty on the Company and personal penalty on Plant...

Central Excise | Packaged Drinking Water Cannot Be Assessed On MRP Basis U/S 4A: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that packaged drinking water is not liable to be assessed on MRP basis under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act unless it is specifically covered by a statutory notification. Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, provides a special procedure for the valuation of excisable goods based on their Retail Sale Price (RSP) or Maximum Retail Price (MRP), rather than the standard transaction value...

Excise | Captive Exemption Cannot Be Denied When Final Products Are Partly Cleared On Duty Payment & Partly Under Exemption: CESTAT

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that the captive exemption under Notification 67/95-CE remains available even if the final product is partly cleared on duty payment and partly under exemption. Central Excise Notification No. 67/95-CE provides an exemption from excise duty for specified inputs and capital goods that are manufactured and captively consumed within the same factory for the production of final, dutiable products. P....

Refund Cannot Be Denied When CA Certificate & Ledger Confirms Excess Excise Duty: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that the assessee is entitled to a refund of excess excise duty since both the Chartered Accountant's certificate and the ledger clearly established that the duty was paid in excess and was never passed on to any third party. R. Muralidhar (Judicial Member) and K. Anpazhakan (Technical Member) observed that the assessee has filed a Chartered Accountant's Certificate, which certifies that excise duty...

Sales Tax Discharged Through NPV Under State Incentive Scheme Cannot Be Added Back To Excise Transaction Value: CESTAT Mumbai

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai has held that sales tax deferred under a State incentive scheme and subsequently discharged by payment of its Net Present Value (NPV) cannot be treated as “sales tax not paid” so as to be added back to the transaction value for levy of central excise duty. A Division Bench comprising C.J. Mathew (Technical Member) and Ajay Sharma (Judicial Member) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee, M/s Grindwell Norton Ltd....

Central Excise Exemption For Cotton Fabrics Not Available If Any Interlinked Process Uses Power : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that manufacturers cannot claim central excise duty exemption for processed cotton fabrics if power is used at any stage of the manufacturing chain, even when the work is carried out through separate units. The Court restored a duty and penalty demand that had been set aside by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).To claim excise duty exemption for 'cotton fabrics' processed without the aid of power or steam, the manufacturing stages must be...

Sales Tax Discharged At NPV Under State Incentive Scheme Not Addable To Transaction Value For Excise Duty: CESTAT Mumbai

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai has held that sales tax deferred under a State incentive scheme and later discharged at Net Present Value (NPV) cannot be treated as “sales tax not paid” for the purpose of including it in the transaction value for levy of Central Excise duty. A Division Bench of C.J. Mathew (Technical Member) and Ajay Sharma (Judicial Member) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee and set aside the demand raised under Section...

Bunker Supply Of Fuel To ASEAN Explorer Is Duty-Free Export: CESTAT Quashes Excise Demand Against Bharat Petroleum

The Bangalore Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that bunker supplies of High Viscosity Furnace Oil (HVFO) made by Bharat Petroleum to the vessel to 'cable ship ASEAN explorer' qualify as duty-free exports under Rule 19 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, read with Notification No. 46/2001-CE(NT). P.A. Augustian (Judicial Member) and Pullela Nageswara Rao (Technical Member) examined whether the supplies of High Viscosity Furnace Oil (HVFO)...

GST Migration Not Taxpayer's Burden: Delhi HC Directs CESTAT To Hear Appeal After Pre-Deposit Was Made Under Excise Head Due To Portal Failure

The Delhi High Court has held that where the Service Tax portal had become non-functional after the migration to the GST regime, the taxpayer cannot be compelled to make the mandatory pre-deposit strictly under the Service Tax ledger for maintainability of an appeal. The Court observed that once the deposit has already gone to the Government exchequer under the Excise Head. A Division Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Saurabh Banerjee was hearing a writ petition ...

Peanut Butter Similar To Margarine; Not Exempt From Excise Duty: CESTAT

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the Peanut Butter is similar to Margarine in terms of usage, origin, fat content, etc. and therefore not eligible for excise duty exemption. Angad Prasad (Judicial Member) and A.K. Jyotishi (Technical Member) examined whether Peanut Butter could be considered similar to Margarine. If found similar, then it would not be exempt from excise duty; and if not similar, the exemption would...

Assessee Ineligible For Excise Duty Refund On Ambulances, Neither Manufacturer Nor Buyer U/S 11B(2)(e) Central Excise Act: CESTAT

The Chandigarh Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that the assessee is ineligible for excise duty refund on ambulances, as it is neither a manufacturer nor a buyer under Section 11B(2)(e) Central Excise Act. The bench further noted that the assessee was merely operating the ambulances under a government agreement, which does not make him a manufacturer or buyer. S.S. Garg (Judicial Member) and P. Anjani Kumar (Technical Member) observed...