2017 (10) TMI 264 - AT - Central Excise

Entitlement of Interest - delayed refund - whether the appellant are entitled to interest of the refund amount of ₹ 63,48,964/- and ₹ 19,38,750/- received by them pursuant to the Commissioner (Appeals) order dated 22.06.2007? - Held that - the Ld. Commissioner(Appeals) in not examining the eligibility, mis-directed itself holding that the said issue attained finality being not raised by the Appellant. Needless to emphasize, no detailed reasoning was recorded on the merit of the claim for interest by the Ld. Commissioner(Appeals) in the impugned Order even though the earlier order was set aside by the Tribunal and the matter was remanded to for reconsideration of the issues - it is prudent to remand the matter to the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) to consider the issue of eligibility of interest and record the detailed reasoning on the said aspect of eligibility of interest on the refund claims - appeal allowed by way of remand.

Summary

Issues:
- Entitlement to interest on refund amount

Analysis:
The judgment pertains to two appeals filed against Orders-in-appeal passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals). The main issue revolves around the entitlement of the appellants to interest on refund amounts received following the Commissioner (Appeals) order dated 22.06.2007. The appellants claimed interest for the delayed period from specific dates to the order date. The Ld. Advocate argued that the rejection of interest by the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) based on a previous observation, which was later set aside by the Tribunal, is legally flawed.

The Revenue's representative contended that both the Revenue and the assessee had filed appeals before the Tribunal against the Commissioner (Appeals) order dated 22.06.2007. The Revenue's appeal was rejected, while the assessee's appeal was remanded. The Ld. AR highlighted that the Tribunal's remand order did not address the interest claim on the refund amount.

During the hearing, the Ld. Adv. reiterated that the appellants had challenged the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals)'s observation on the rejection of interest in the appeal before the Tribunal. The presiding member, after reviewing the records, noted that the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) had rejected the interest claim based on a previous order's conclusion that interest was not admissible for the specified period. However, the Tribunal had set aside this earlier order and remanded the matter for reconsideration. The presiding member found that the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) had not properly examined the eligibility for interest and directed a detailed reasoning on the aspect of interest eligibility on the refund claims. Consequently, the appeals were allowed by way of remand to the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) for further consideration and detailed reasoning on the eligibility of interest on the refund claims.