2014 (1) TMI 206 - AT - Service Tax

Appeal allowed on service tax penalties for outdoor catering services under Finance Act. Financial hardship considered reasonable cause.

M/s. Bhagwati Caterers Pvt. Ltd. Versus Versus CST. -Service Tax -Ahmedabad

The appeal was allowed in part regarding penalties imposed under Sections 76 and 78 of the Finance Act, 1994 for delayed payment of service tax for ... Demand of service tax - Penalties under Section 76, 77 and 78 - Outdoor catering services - Held that:- Though there was a delay in payment of service tax and non-filing of returns but there is no evidence or record that there was an intention on the part of the appellant to evade payment of service tax. Financial hardship as brought out by the appellant was a reasonable cause for delay in payment of service tax - there was reasonable cause for not paying service tax and penalties imposed under Section 76 and 78 are required to be set aside. However, appellant was a service tax registered unit for a long time and was well aware of filing of ST-3 returns which was not done. Accordingly, penalty under Section 77 of the Finance Act, 1994 has been correctly imposed and upheld by the lower authorities - Decided partly in favour of assessee. Issues:- Appeal against penalties imposed under Sections 76, 77, and 78 of the Finance Act, 1994 for outdoor catering services.- Whether penalties were justified due to delayed payment of service tax.- Confession of deliberate avoidance of payment by the appellant.- Financial hardship as a reasonable cause for delay in payment.- Applicability of case laws in determining penalties.Analysis:The appeal was filed against the penalties imposed under Sections 76, 77, and 78 of the Finance Act, 1994 concerning outdoor catering services provided by the appellant. The appellant argued that the entire service tax along with interest was paid before the show cause notice, thus no penalties should have been imposed. The appellant mentioned facing financial hardship due to income tax liabilities, which led to delayed payment of service tax. The appellant contended that penalties under Section 80 of the Finance Act, 1994 were not applicable due to reasonable cause. The appellant cited relevant case laws supporting their position.The Revenue contended that the short payment of service tax was detected by them, and the director of the appellant confessed to deliberately avoiding payment and not filing service tax returns on time. However, upon review of the case records, it was observed that there was no confession by the director regarding deliberate evasion of service tax payment. The appellant had made some payments and filed returns before the show cause notice was issued. The Tribunal noted that while there was a delay in payment and non-filing of returns, there was no evidence of intent to evade payment. The financial hardship claimed by the appellant was considered a reasonable cause for the delay in payment.Referring to a relevant case law, the Tribunal emphasized that penalties under Sections 76 and 78 were not justified due to the reasonable cause for delayed payment. However, since the appellant was a registered service tax unit and was aware of the requirement to file ST-3 returns, the penalty under Section 77 was upheld. Consequently, the appeal was allowed regarding penalties under Sections 76 and 78 but upheld for the penalty under Section 77 of the Finance Act, 1994.In conclusion, the Tribunal found that while the penalties under Sections 76 and 78 were not warranted due to financial hardship as a reasonable cause, the penalty under Section 77 was upheld as the appellant failed to comply with the requirement of filing ST-3 returns despite being a registered unit.