Section 73 notice cannot sustain service tax demand when return-filing duty under Section 70 had not yet arisen.

A notice under Section 73 of the Finance Act, 1994 was held unsustainable for a period when the service recipient had no statutory obligation to file returns under Section 70. The Tribunal followed Supreme Court authority that Section 73, even after amendment, applies only to persons already liable to file returns, and the later introduction of Section 71A did not retrospectively cure a notice issued for the earlier period. On that reasoning, the demand based on non-filing of returns was not maintainable and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether a notice under Section 73 of the Finance Act, 1994 could be sustained against a service recipient for the relevant period when the statutory liability to file returns had not yet been cast on such persons.

Analysis: The dispute related to service tax demand for a period prior to the introduction of Section 71A. The Tribunal relied on the Supreme Court's earlier pronouncement that Section 73, even after amendment, applied only to persons liable to file returns under Section 70. The relevant class of service recipients was not brought within that return-filing obligation during the period in question, and therefore a notice invoking Section 73 for non-filing of return under Section 70 was not maintainable. The same principle had already been affirmed by the Supreme Court in an identical matter, leaving no scope to take a different view.

Conclusion: The notice and the resulting demand were not sustainable for the relevant period, and the assessee succeeded on this issue.

Ratio Decidendi: A notice under Section 73 of the Finance Act, 1994 is not maintainable for a period when the assessee was not under a statutory obligation to file returns under Section 70, and the later introduction of Section 71A does not retrospectively validate such notice for the earlier period.

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