High Court rules impugned order appealable under Section 86 of Indian Finance Act, rejecting circular arguments.

The High Court deemed the impugned order appealable under Section 86 of the Indian Finance Act, 1994, rejecting arguments based on a circular by the Central Board of Excise and Customs. The court held that all provisions of the Act apply to proceedings under the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme. The circular's instructions were deemed unacceptable, reinforcing the appealability of the order under the Finance Act. The court dismissed the writ petition, granting liberty to file an appeal to be decided promptly, enabling the petitioner to raise legal pleas.

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Issues: Appealability of the impugned order under Section 86 of the Indian Finance Act, 1994; Validity of the circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs; Applicability of the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme to the Finance Act.

Analysis:
The High Court considered the appealability of the impugned order under Section 86 of the Indian Finance Act, 1994. The judges opined that the scheme under which the petitioner has applied is part of the Finance Act, making the impugned order appealable. The court rejected the argument based on a circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, emphasizing that all provisions of the Act apply to proceedings under the scheme unless specifically excluded. Consequently, the impugned order passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax was deemed appealable under Section 86 of the Finance Act.

Regarding the validity of the circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, the court held that the instructions in the circular were not acceptable. The court highlighted that after the incorporation of the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme into the Finance Act, all provisions of the Act, except those specifically excluded, are applicable to proceedings under the scheme. This decision reinforced the appealability of the impugned order under the Finance Act, disregarding the circular's instructions.

Furthermore, the court addressed the applicability of the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme to the Finance Act. The judges emphasized that all provisions of the Act, except those expressly excluded, apply to proceedings under the scheme. Consequently, the court dismissed the writ petition as withdrawn, granting the petitioner liberty to file an appeal. If an appeal is filed, it must be decided within a fortnight, allowing the petitioner to raise all available pleas in accordance with the law.

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