2014 (2) TMI 617 - AT - Service Tax

Rectification of mistake - Whether the assessee is having the original declaration as filed by the transporter - Copies of the transporter s declarations were photo-copies - Held that - declarations filed by the appellant are taken into consideration by the adjudicating authority in Order-in-Original which is recorded at Para 14.1 of the said impugned order. It can be seen from the said paragraph that the adjudicating authority has only dismissed the said declaration on the ground that they filed only photo-copies. We were of the view the adjudicating authority should have considered the declaration in proper perspective and should have arrived at a judicious conclusion - This issue cannot be raised in an application for rectification of mistake, claiming that it is a mistake apparent on the face of record and is not in consonance with the law - there is no mistake apparent on the face of record - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues: Rectification of mistake in the final order regarding declarations filed by the appellant.

Upon considering the rectification application, the Tribunal noted that the error alleged by the Revenue pertained to the acceptance of declarations filed by the appellant. The Assistant Commissioner argued that the Tribunal had erred in holding that the appellant had produced declarations from the transporter without verifying their authenticity. The Assistant Commissioner contended that the copies of the transporter's declarations were mere photo-copies, which constituted a mistake in the Tribunal's order. However, after hearing both sides and examining the records, the Tribunal observed that the adjudicating authority had indeed considered the appellant's declarations in the Order-in-Original, albeit dismissing them due to being photo-copies. The Tribunal emphasized that it had already taken these declarations into account while arriving at its decision, following the judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat. The Tribunal reiterated that the adjudicating authority should have evaluated the declarations in a proper manner and reached a fair conclusion. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that there was no mistake apparent on the face of the record, and the Revenue's application lacked merit, leading to its dismissal.

In essence, the issue revolved around the alleged mistake in the Tribunal's final order concerning the acceptance of declarations submitted by the appellant. The Tribunal clarified that it had duly considered the declarations during the proceedings, emphasizing the importance of the adjudicating authority's proper assessment of such submissions. The Tribunal's decision to dismiss the Revenue's application for rectification was based on the premise that there was no evident error in its earlier judgment regarding the appellant's declarations.