9911796707
TMI Blog2017 (7) TMI 1378X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eding drawn against the petitioner-firm by the Respondents for assessment of the default in payment of service tax. It is also not in dispute that no show cause notice also has been issued to the Petitioners for the default, if any, for the year 2016-17. The show cause notice which is being referred to by the Respondents in their reply, is for the assessment year 2011-12 to 2015-16. This, in the opinion of this Court, is not proper, legal or justified. The Finance Act clearly envisages certain provisions of law which deal with the taxable service for charging the service tax. Section 72 deals with the provision for best judgment assessment, which a person or an establishment which is liable to pay service tax is supposed to do. A perusal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 87 and Section 87(b)(i) of the Finance Act, 1994. It is also relevant to mention that the said notice is in respect of the assessment year 2016-17. 3. The allegation against the Petitioners is that they have not paid the service tax for quite some time including the year 2016-17 and therefore it has been necessitated for the department to issue a letter to the garnishee for recovery of the dues by collecting those money which the management of SECL was to pay to the Petitioners. 4. Learned Counsel for the Petitioners at the outset submits that the entire case of the department in initiating proceeding against the Petitioners for alleged default of service tax is bad in law, misconceived and totally unsustainable. According to the Peti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng the service tax and therefore the petition deserves to be rejected. According to him, the impugned order dated 21.3.2017 is nothing but an order of freezing of amount payable to the Petitioners for their known source of income. He however submits that the said letter is only a letter of intimation of depositing whatever amount payable to the Petitioners by the department to be deposited directly to the Department. He also refers to the reply that they have filed, referring to a show cause notice. 6. However, undisputedly, the said show cause notice pertains to a proceeding drawn for the default of the financial year 2011-12 to 2015-16 and the Counsel for the Respondents was not able to justify on this aspect as to whether for the fina ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to special audit, and in the event of any default, notices are issued to the concerned to explain and on receipt of reply, a proceeding is drawn and it is finally adjudicated upon and if it appears to be a default, the authorities concerned are empowered with the powers to impose interest as well as penalty. Section 87 deals with the recovery on any amount due to Central Government. 9. A perusal of these two Sections would clearly reflect that there has to be a proper legal proceeding drawn so far as default of payment in service tax is concerned and an order has to be passed against the concerned and only then can the recovery proceeding or freezing proceeding or the order of freezing could have been passed. In the instant case, since ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
