Penalty waiver under beneficial tax relief upheld where service tax and interest were paid within the computed six-month period.

A beneficial penalty-relief provision allowing waiver where service tax with interest is paid within six months from presidential assent was applied by excluding the date of assent under section 5 of the General Clauses Act. On that computation, the payment was treated as timely, and the assessee was found to have a prima facie case for complete waiver of penalty and stay of recovery during the appeal. The text underscores that, for this special relief, the relevant period runs by excluding the assent date when calculating the six-month limit.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to waiver of penalty and stay during the pendency of the appeal on the ground that service tax with interest had been paid within the stipulated six-month period under the beneficial provision.

Analysis: The appellant had paid the service tax along with interest on 28-11-2012 and sought the benefit of the special provision inserted in section 80(2). The period of six months was computed with reference to the date of assent, and by applying section 5 of the General Clauses Act, the date of assent was to be excluded for the purpose of calculation. On that basis, the payment was found to have been made within time. The appellant was therefore held to have established a prima facie case for complete waiver of the penalty during the pendency of the appeal.

Conclusion: The appellant was entitled to waiver of penalty and stay against recovery of the penalty during the pendency of the appeal.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a beneficial penalty-relief provision prescribes a six-month period from the date of presidential assent, the assent date is excluded in computing the period under section 5 of the General Clauses Act, and timely payment of tax with interest within that period warrants waiver of penalty.

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