We have investigated the electrical characterization of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors formed on the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etch-damaged both n- and p-type 4H-SiC. We found that there was an effect of a sacrificial oxidation treatment on the etch-damaged surfaces. Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements of these MOS capacitors were used and referenced to those of prepared control samples without etch damage. It has been found that a sacrificial oxidation treatment can improve the electrical characteristics of MOS capacitors on etch-damaged 4H-SiC since the effective interface density and fixed oxide charges of etch-damaged samples have been found to increase while the breakdown field strength of the oxide decreased and the barrier height at the SiC-SiO$_2$ interface decreased for MOS capacitors on etch-damaged surfaces.