Rectification of exemption period and penalty reference in service tax order allowed after correction of obvious clerical errors.

Rectification proceedings were used to correct obvious errors in an earlier CESTAT order by confining the exemption period to 27.02.2010 under Notification No. 03/2010-ST, and by fixing the transitional period between Notification No. 09/2003-ST and Notification No. 24/2004-ST in the operative portion. The tribunal also held that the reference to penalty under Section 78 was inadvertent and should be deleted as a typographical error. The rectification applications were allowed to that extent, and the final order was amended to reflect the correct dates, exemption period, and penalty reference.

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Issues: Whether the final order required rectification to confine the exemption period to 27.02.2010, to correct the transitional period between the two notifications, and to delete the erroneous reference to penalty under Section 78.

Analysis: The applications were taken up as rectification proceedings and the record was examined to identify obvious mistakes in the earlier final order. The exemption, as affected by Notification No. 03/2010-ST dated 27.02.2010, ceased on 27.02.2010, and the transitional period between Notification No. 09/2003-ST dated 20.06.2003 and Notification No. 24/2004-ST dated 10.09.2004 also required correction in the operative portion. The reference to Section 78 in the penalty discussion was found to be inadvertent and was corrected as a typographical error.

Conclusion: The rectification applications were allowed to the extent of correcting the dates, the exemption period, and the erroneous penalty reference.

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