Wrong accounting code for service tax payment does not justify a fresh demand where liability was already discharged.

Service tax discharged under an incorrect accounting code is not required to be paid again under the proper code when the liability was otherwise satisfied for the relevant period. The Board's circular states that such cases should be corrected through the PAO process rather than by demanding a fresh payment from the assessee, and an earlier Tribunal ruling on identical facts had taken the same view. The operative effect is that a mere coding error in payment does not create a second service tax liability if the tax was already remitted.

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Issues: Whether service tax paid under a wrong accounting code could be demanded again under the proper code.

Analysis: The assessee had discharged the service tax liability during the relevant period, though the amount was credited under an incorrect accounting code. The Board's circular clarified that where tax has been paid under a wrong code, the assessee should not be called upon to pay it again and the matter should be resolved through the PAO. The same view had been followed in an earlier Tribunal decision on identical facts.

Conclusion: The assessee was not liable to pay service tax again merely because the earlier payment was made under a wrong accounting code.

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