2023 (10) TMI 1079 - AT - Central Excise

Refund claim of Excess duty paid - modification in the rates of duty on Motor Spirit (MS) and High Speed Diesel (HSD) by issuing two Notifications viz. No.22/2014 and 24/2014 - HELD THAT - Hon ble High Court of Calcutta in COMMISSIONER OF CGST CX HALDIA COMMISSIONERATE VERSUS M/S INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED, REFINERY DIVISION 2023 (2) TMI 1201 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURT held that the notification would come into effect only from the date of its publication and the Tribunal rightly allowed the assessee s appeal. The impugned orders cannot be sustained and all therefore set aside. The appeal filed by the Appellant is allowed.

Summary

Issues involved: Interpretation of the effective date of government notifications modifying duty rates on Motor Spirit (MS) and High Speed Diesel (HSD) u/s 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

The judgment addressed the issue of the effective date of government notifications modifying duty rates on Motor Spirit (MS) and High Speed Diesel (HSD) u/s 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Appellant, M/s. IOCL, filed refund claims for excess duty paid due to delayed publication of the notifications in the Gazette. The Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) initially rejected the claims, leading to the appeal before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal referred to precedents from different benches to support the Appellant's argument. The Ahmedabad Bench decision highlighted that notifications become effective from the date of publication in the Gazette, not from the date of issue. Similarly, the Kolkata Bench and Hyderabad Bench decisions emphasized the importance of both conditions in Section 5A(5) being fulfilled for a notification to come into force, leading to the refund of excess duty paid.

The judgment also cited a case law from the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India regarding the mandatory conditions for bringing a notification into force. The Court stressed the necessity for the notification to be both published in the official gazette and offered for sale on the date of its issue. Failure to meet these conditions resulted in the Department's inability to claim differential duty amounts based on the notification.

Ultimately, the Hon'ble High Court of Calcutta upheld the Tribunal's decision that the notifications would come into effect only from the date of their publication, leading to the allowance of the assessee's appeal. Consequently, the impugned orders were set aside, and the appeal filed by the Appellant was allowed with consequential benefits, in accordance with the law.