New Delhi: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), India’s premier engineering and manufacturing enterprise in the energy and infrastructure sectors, has received a significant legal reprieve as the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Delhi pronounced a favourable judgment in a long-standing service tax case.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE and NSE on May 9, BHEL announced that CESTAT Delhi has quashed the earlier Order-in-Original No. 24/COMMR./DDN/2022 dated March 31, 2022. The original order had imposed a service tax demand of Rs 26.94 crore along with equivalent interest and penalties — totalling over Rs 53.88 crore — under Sections 73, 75, and 78 of the Finance Act, 1994.
The favourable order (No. 50617/2025), dated May 8, 2025, covers the financial years 2015–16, 2016–17, and up to June 2017. With this ruling, BHEL has effectively mitigated the tax liability arising from the earlier directive of the Commissioner of CGST & Service Tax.
The company has stated that no penalties or sanctions have been imposed in the order, and no aberrations or non-compliances were noted by the tribunal. BHEL has accepted the order and will now proceed to file for a refund of the pre-deposit made in the case.
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