2008 (8) TMI 101 - AT - Service Tax

Assessee paid part of deposit as ordered by Commissioner and sought further time for making pre-deposit but Commissioner dismissed the appeal without going in to merits of the case plea of financial hardship as the Proprietor has met with an accident - Commissioner (Appeals) shall decide the appeal on merits and without insisting for further pre-deposit - appellant is directed to deposit a certain sum of & report compliance before the Commissioner (A) - appeal is allowed by way of remand

Summary

Issues: Stay petition, pre-deposit order, financial hardship plea, compliance deadline, appeal disposal

In this case, the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, New Delhi, consisting of Justice S.N. Jha, President, and M. Veeraiyan, Technical Member, heard a stay petition and decided to proceed with the appeal without requiring a pre-deposit. The Commissioner (Appeals) had earlier ordered a pre-deposit of Rs. 18,00,000 against a service tax demand of Rs. 12,98,908, along with interest and penalties. The appellants had paid Rs. 4,00,000 before the order was passed and requested more time due to financial hardship caused by the proprietor's accident and business disruptions. The Tribunal directed the appellants to deposit an additional Rs. 2 lakhs within eight weeks and report compliance by a specified date. The Commissioner (Appeals) was instructed to decide the appeal on merits without further pre-deposit, providing a fair hearing opportunity. The impugned order was set aside, and the appeal was allowed by way of remand, with both the appeal and stay petition being disposed of accordingly.