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Issues: Appeal against order confirming demand of Service Tax and interest u/s 68, 69, 70 & 73 of the Finance Act, 1994.
Summary: The appellants challenged the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) upholding the demand of &8377; 1,55,885/- along with interest for the period 12-6-2000 onwards, related to availing services of GTO from 16-11-1997 to 1-6-1998 and liability for Service Tax u/s 41/97-ST, 42/97-ST & 43/97-ST. The adjudicating authority confirmed the demand, penalizing for non-filing of Service Tax return u/s 75, 76, 77 & 78 of the Act. The appellants contended that the levy of Service Tax on GTO was not validated at the time of the show-cause notice, and upon validation on 14-5-2003, they paid the Service Tax on 28-8-2003 within the stipulated six months from the validation date. They argued that interest should not be levied in their case due to timely payment post-validation. After considering the submissions and records, it was noted that the appellants indeed paid the Service Tax within six months from the validation date as required, i.e., on 28-8-2003, for the period from 16-11-1997 to 1-6-1998. As per the validation terms, no interest or penal provisions are attracted if the Service Tax is paid within the specified period. Consequently, the order of the ld. Commissioner (Appeals) imposing interest was deemed unsustainable, and thus set aside. The appeal was allowed accordingly.
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