9911796707
TMI Blog2011 (7) TMI 492X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the service recipient and not deposited with the department. The lower appellate authority has upheld the demand against the appellant leading to this appeal before the Tribunal. Shri Sameer Agrawal, ld. Advocate appearing for the appellant argues that :- (a) The appellants have provided leased lined service which is taxable only w.e.f. 16-7-01 subsequent to the amendments made by the Finance Act, 2001 being notified, (b) The Tribunal in case of Chennai Telephones (BSNL) v. CCE, Chennai - 2004 (169) E.L.T. 222 (Tri.-Chennai = 2006 (3) S.T.R. 227 (Tri.-Chennai) has held that leased circuit to telephone users is different from telephone service and is taxable only w.e.f. 16-7-01. (c) The railways and canal authorities have not paid service ta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y the appellants but the assessee neither deposited the service tax amount nor they had declared the value of the taxable service in their ST3 returns and hence they were guilty of suppression with intention to evade service tax. He states that accordingly the demand was made u/s 73 and the contention of the ld. Advocate to the contrary is not correct. He also states that during the course of audit, it was found that the appellants have provided impugned telephone circuits through ACSR/copper wire which was capable of speech circuit as well as for PBX/PABX use and therefore, the impugned service was taxable as telephone service even prior to a separate entry being carved out for leased line service w.e.f. 16-7-01. 4. After hearing bot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... able to adduce any evidence or show from the case records that this is so and hence this submission of ld. Advocate is subject to verification. 5. In view of the fact that the leased lines provided through ACSR/copper wire provided voice communication, said leased circuits, in our considered view have been rightly held to be covered under the existing entry for telephone service even prior to the period 16-7-01. To that extent the tax demand is justified. The leased line provided through iron wire which is capable of only data communication cannot be brought under the ambit of the entry for telephone service prior to 16-7-01. 6. Ld. Advocate has made a submission that the service recipient has not paid the Service ta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tor unit, apart from being not in accordance with law has also been rendered by Single Member Bench and not binding on us. Further the Apex Court has settled the issue by clearly holding that interest as per statute is required to be paid where tax is payable without even issue of separate notice for interest. 8. In view of our findings as above, we set aside the impugned order and remand the matter to the original authority for verifying as to whether the service tax amount has been separately paid by service recipient and for allowing cum-tax benefit in such of those cases where no service tax has been separately paid. He will also segregate the amounts relating to leased lines based on iron wire meant for only data circuit and if t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
