C A D Vision Engineers Pvt Ltd Vs Commissioner of Customs & Central Tax (Appeals-I) (CESTAT Hyderabad)
Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad bench, has dismissed an appeal filed by M/s C A D Vision Engineers Private Limited, upholding the denial of a cash refund for service tax paid under the reverse charge mechanism after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The Tribunal ruled that Section 142(3) of the CGST Act, 2017, which allows for cash refunds of amounts paid under existing law, does not create a new right to refund if no such entitlement existed under the previous laws.
The case involved a claim for refund of Rs.4,95,765 in service tax paid by CAD Vision Engineers on December 6, 2017, for import of service. This payment occurred after the appointed date for GST implementation (July 1, 2017).
The Original Authority had rejected the refund request. It noted that the service tax was paid correctly according to the law. However, the authority observed that the company had not carried forward the credit of this amount under the transitional provisions of Section 140 of the CGST Act, read with the relevant rules. The Original Authority also held that the claim for a cash refund under Section 142(3) of the CGST Act was not permissible, as there was no specific provision in either the existing law (pre-GST) or the new GST law that allowed for a cash refund of an amount correctly paid, unless specifically provided.
