Court refuses interim relief in service tax challenge, emphasizes timely dues deposit. Recovery proceedings allowed despite appeal filing.

The Court admitted the writ petition challenging service tax demand confirmation but refused interim relief. The petitioner was given three months to deposit dues to prevent coercive actions. A confusion arose over "dues" and "demand," and the validity of a recovery notice based on a quashed circular was contested. Despite reliance on a Rajasthan High Court judgment, the Court allowed recovery proceedings due to the petitioner's failure to deposit dues. The Court emphasized that filing an appeal does not automatically stay orders under appeal, dismissing the writ petition for lack of merit and ruling in favor of the respondent.

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Issues:
Challenge to service tax demand confirmation, confusion between "dues" and "demand," validity of recovery notice based on quashed circular, applicability of Rajasthan High Court judgment on recovery proceedings, refusal of interim protection, failure to deposit dues, authority to proceed with recovery, impact of pending appeal on recovery proceedings, lack of stay on recovery order, absence of interim order restraining recovery, reliance on oral observations, absence of merit in the writ petition.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner challenged the confirmation of service tax demand for the period from May 2006 to June 2010. The Court admitted the writ petition but refused interim relief, allowing the petitioner to deposit dues within three months to prevent coercive actions by the respondents.
2. A confusion arose regarding the terms "dues" and "demand" during subsequent proceedings on April 3, 2013, questioning the scope of liability beyond the adjudicated amounts by the Assessing Authority.
3. The validity of a recovery notice issued on January 10, 2014, based on a quashed circular, was contested in the writ petition. The petitioner argued that recovery should not proceed while the matter was sub judice.
4. The petitioner relied on a Rajasthan High Court judgment to argue against initiating recovery proceedings when an application seeking waiver of duty deposit was pending, emphasizing that the department should not benefit from its delays.
5. The Court distinguished the Rajasthan High Court judgment's applicability to the present case, emphasizing the petitioner's failure to deposit dues despite the opportunity granted by the Court, allowing the department to proceed with recovery.
6. The Court highlighted that the mere filing of an appeal does not automatically stay or suspend an order under appeal, thus rejecting the argument that the authorities were barred from recovery actions.
7. Despite the petitioner's contentions regarding oral observations and communication by their advocate, the Court found no basis to modify its orders or restrain the department from recovery, as no interim protection was granted.
8. With no stay order in place, the Court upheld the validity of the recovery notice, dismissing the writ petition for lack of merit and ruling in favor of the respondent.

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