JOSHI TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this application, the applicant (original petitioner) seeks review of the judgment and order dated 16.6.2016 passed by this court in Special Civil Application No.2556 of 2018 and seeks grant of interest at the rate of 18% per annum or such other rate as the court deems fit from the date the respective amounts were deposited with the respondents till the date of actual refund of the deposit.

(2.) The applicant had filed the captioned petition seeking refund of an amount of Rs.73,60,061/- of education cess and higher secondary education cess paid under mistake of law for the period from July 2004 to April 2014 in terms of the Circular No.978/2/2014-CA dated 7.1.2014 issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs clarifying that education cess and secondary and higher secondary education cess are not to be calculated on cesses which are levied under the Acts administered by Department/Ministries other than the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) but are only collected by the Department of Revenue in terms of those Acts.

(3.) In the writ petition, the petitioner had sought two reliefs (i) a direction to the respondents to sanction refund of Rs.73,60,061/- and (ii) grant of interest at the rate of 18% per annum. By the judgment and order dated 16.6.2016, this court allowed the petition in favour of the applicant by setting aside the order-in-original dated 24.11.2014 and directing the second respondent to forthwith sanction and grant the applicant refund of Rs.73,60,061/- as claimed vide application dated 17.7.2014. However, as regards the claim of interest at the rate of 18% per annum, this court held that the interest claimed is not backed by any statutory provision and hence, such relief cannot be granted.