2018 (7) TMI 916 - AT - Service Tax

Maintainability of appeal - case of Revenue is that the appellant had not filed any appeal against the Adjudication Order - Held that - The appellant had agreed with the Order of the Adjudicating authority and no appeal was filed before the Commissioner (Appeals). Therefore, the appeal filed by the appellant before this Tribunal is not maintainable - appeal dismissed as not maintainable.

Summary

Issues: Jurisdiction of the Tribunal to entertain appeal against Adjudication Order

Analysis:
The case involved the appellant engaged in providing taxable service under the Rent-a-cab Scheme Operator Service category. A Show Cause Notice was issued proposing a demand for Service Tax, interest, and penalty. The Adjudicating authority confirmed the demand of Service Tax along with interest and imposed a penalty, giving the option to pay penalty at 25% of the tax under the proviso to Section 78 of the Finance Act, 1994. The Revenue appealed before the Commissioner (Appeals) seeking confirmation of the entire dues and appropriation of the amount already deposited by the appellant towards the Service Tax liability. The Commissioner (Appeals) rejected the appeal filed by the Revenue, leading to the appellant filing an appeal against this decision.

During the hearing, the Learned Authorized Representative for the Revenue raised a preliminary objection that the appellant had not filed an appeal against the Adjudication Order, making the appeal before the Tribunal not maintainable. The Tribunal agreed with this submission, noting that the appellant had agreed with the Adjudication Order and did not file an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals). As a result, the appeal filed by the appellant before the Tribunal was deemed not maintainable and was dismissed on this ground. The operative part of the order was already pronounced in court, concluding the matter based on the lack of maintainability of the appeal before the Tribunal.