Jagati Cokes PVT. LTD. vs. Union Of INDIA And 6 Ors.

Held

The Court directed the respondents, specifically respondent Nos. 4, 5, and 6 (Commissioner of Central GST, Assistant Commissioner of GST, and Superintendent of GST), to refund the education cess, including secondary and higher education cess, collected from the petitioner during the specified period. This direction was based on the petitioner's submission that they were entitled to exemption from excise duty under the North-East Industrial Policy, 2007, and Notification No. 20/2007, and the fact that these cesses are levied on excise duty. The Court also took note of the submission by the learned Additional Solicitor General that the competent authority had decided to refund such cess. The Court followed its earlier decision in a similar case, WP(C) No. 5760 of 2018. The refund was to be processed within three months of receiving a certified copy of the order. No issues were expressly left undecided.

Facts

The petitioner, Jagati Cokes Pvt. Ltd., an industrial unit in Assam, sought a refund of education cess and secondary and higher education cess collected from March 2011 to December 2015. The petitioner claimed exemption from central excise duty under the North-East Industrial Policy, 2007, and Notification No. 20/2007. The petitioner argued that since excise duty itself was exempted, the cesses levied on excise duty should also not be leviable. The petitioner relied on a previous identical case, WP(C) No. 5760 of 2018 (Kamakhya Plastics Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India), decided by the same High Court on August 27, 2018, which had directed a refund.

Key Issues

1. Whether the education cess and secondary and higher education cess are leviable on excise duty when the excise duty itself is exempted under an industrial policy? (Question of law) Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner contended that as per the North-East Industrial Policy, 2007, and Notification No. 20/2007, it was entitled to 100% refund of excise duty paid. Since education cess and secondary and higher education cess are levied on excise duty, these cesses should not have been collected from the petitioner for the period during which excise duty was exempted. The petitioner cited the decision in WP(C) No. 5760 of 2018 as precedent. Revenue's Arguments: The learned Additional Solicitor General submitted that a decision had been taken by the competent authority in the Ministry of Finance to refund such cess irrespective of whether the assessee had approached the High Court.