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2021 (8) TMI 298 - AT - Service TaxRefund of service tax paid - chit fund business - tax on foreman charges collected for chit fund activities - whether such service was liable to be tax or not - delay of four days in filing refund claim - period from 01.07.2012 to 31.05.2013 - Time limitation - HELD THAT:- It is the settled position of law that any judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court is the law of the land. Therefore, when the Hon’ble Supreme Court holds that there was no question of liability to Service Tax, then, any amount collected under the guise of Service Tax becomes a collection of the said amount without the authority of law and the Revenue can never, therefore, claim any right over such amount; the same will have to be refunded forthwith to the concerned person. Hence, the collection of amount, which according to the appellant was out of compulsion, being a collection without any authority of law, will have to be refunded. There is no doubt that Section 11B ibid. prescribes the period of limitation for filing the refund claim, but admittedly here, the application for refund was filed on 19.01.2018; the date of the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court is 07.01.2014. There is a clear four-year delay in filing the refund claim - the appellant cannot take advantage of its own mistake of filing a delayed refund claim and thus cannot claim the interest for that delayed period during which time it slept over its rights. The matter is restored to the file of the Original Authority, who shall work out the refund - Appeal allowed.
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