Deadline to Appeal Tax Arrears Notice, Pre-Deposit Waiver Reasons Required

The Court directed M/s Rajdhani Security Services Private Limited to file an appeal within ten days before the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) regarding a notice for tax arrears. Emphasizing the need for a pre-deposit before availing the appeal remedy, the Court instructed the petitioner to provide reasons for seeking waiver of pre-deposit and interim relief. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the Court permitted the use of a soft copy of the order for appeal filing. The appellate authority was mandated to address the appeal, interim relief requests, and pre-deposit waiver within 60 days for a prompt resolution.

---

---

Issues:
1. Challenge to notice for recovery of tax arrears under Section 87(b) of the Finance Act, 1994.
2. Dispute regarding tax amount already paid by the petitioner.
3. Question of entertaining a writ petition directly when an alternative remedy of appeal is available.
4. Consideration of pre-deposit requirement before availing alternative remedy.

Analysis:

1. The petitioner, M/s Rajdhani Security Services Private Limited, challenged a notice dated 14.07.2020 issued by the Assistant Commissioner, GST & CX, Bhubaneswar-I Division, for recovery of tax arrears amounting to Rs. 60,81,615 under Section 87(b) of the Finance Act, 1994. The petitioner contended that it had already deposited Rs. 25,39,927 for the relevant period, which was communicated to the authorities through challans. Despite this, the petitioner received the impugned order dated 14.07.2020, leading to the filing of the writ petition.

2. The petitioner submitted evidence of the tax amount already paid to the government treasury to the Superintendent (ADJN), GST, Central Excise & Service Tax, Bhubaneswar Range-IV. The Central Government Counsel argued that the impugned notice was consequential to the Order-in-Original dated 29.12.2017, which is appealable under Section 35 of the Central Excise Act. The petitioner raised concerns about the timeliness of filing an appeal due to the delay in the impugned order.

3. The Court considered the availability of an alternative remedy of appeal before the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) and deemed it inappropriate to entertain the writ petition directly. Emphasizing the requirement of making a pre-deposit before availing the alternative remedy, the Court directed the petitioner to file an appeal within ten days, citing reasons for seeking waiver of pre-deposit and interim relief.

4. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, the Court allowed the petitioner to utilize the soft copy of the order available on the High Court's website for filing the appeal. The appellate authority was instructed to consider the appeal, applications for interim relief, and waiver of pre-deposit within 60 days from the filing date, ensuring a timely resolution of the matter in accordance with the law.

---