Inadvertent mentioning of wrong assessee code does not invalidate payment: HC

Urvashi Porwal

Brief of the Case

In the case of Devang Paper Mills Pvt Ltd Vs UOI, it was held that merely mentioning wrong code in the process, cannot result into such harsh consequence of the entire payment not being recognized as valid, incurring further liability of repayment of the basic duty with interest and penalties.

Brief facts of the Case

The petitioner is a Private Limited company and is engaged in the manufacture of excisable goods for which the petitioner enjoys central excise registration. Petitioner has been allotted Code No.AADCD7232REM002. It is under this code that the petitioner regularly files its returns. In the month of August 2014, the petitioner has incurred duty liability of Rs.22,15,000/­, which liability the petitioner discharged in cash through personal ledger account. While paying such duty, the ‘challan’ under which the amount is deposited in the bank, the petitioner, due to oversight, mentioned the assessee Code No.AADCD7232REM001 instead of Code No.AADCD7232REM002. The petitioner immediately thereupon pointed out this issue to the Audit Officer under letter dated 19.03.2015 in detail explaining the background leading to such mistake. On 05.05.2015, the Department wrote to the petitioner that the assessee code now cannot be changed and only remedy available to the petitioner would be to seek refund. It was conveyed to the petitioner that the duty paid in the wrong assessee code cannot be treated as payment of excise duty for the month of July 2014 and the assessee should therefore make payment of the said amount again. Any delay would invite interest and penalty.

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