Thursday 13 February 2014

Education Cess Not Payable On Local Levies

We are producers of sugar located in Uttar Pradesh. We have been paying the applicable excise duty, including the sugar cess levied under the Sugar Cess Act, 1982, on the sugar produced.


Upon our consultant’s advice, we had also been paying the education cess (EC) and the secondary and higher education cess (SHEC) on the sugar cess. Recently, we have engaged a new consultant who has informed us that EC and SHEC are not payable on the sugar cess. Kindly advise.


It was clarified vide Circular No.345/2/2004-TRU (Pt.) dated 10th August, 2004, that the education cess should be calculated only on such duties which are both levied and collected by the department of revenue. Further, recently it has been clarified by the CBEC vide Circular No.978/2/2014-CX dated 7 January 2014, that EC and SHEC are not leviable on ‘cesses’ levied under Acts which are not administered by the department of revenue, even if they are collected by it.


Sugar Cess being a cess levied by the Sugar Cess Act, 1982 (administered by the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution), no EC and SHEC would be leviable on the same.


We are traders of electrical products in Delhi. Recently, during a self-review of our books of accounts and tax payments, we discovered that sales have been inadvertently under-reported in the VAT returns filed by us and consequently VAT has also not been paid on the same. Our consultant informed us about the DVAT amnesty scheme (Delhi Tax Compliance Achievement Scheme, 2013), wherein the outstanding tax can be paid off without interest, penalty or prosecution. However, we understand that declaration of tax dues under this scheme could be made only till 31 January 2014. Kindly suggest if there is any way we can still pay off the outstanding liability without interest, penalty or prosecution.


Recently, the Delhi government has extended the last date of filing declaration under DVAT Amnesty Scheme to 18 February 2014. Accordingly, you may still make the declaration of the outstanding tax amount.


Source;- financialexpress.com





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