Record of personal hearing in service tax to evidence submissions; provision to remand an order abck for reconsideration

[Suresh Viswanathan]

We were given a personal hearing by the Commissioner (Appeals) on a service tax matter in an appeal against the order of the additional commissioner . We have made various additional submissions of case laws and also verbal submissions at the hearing. The Commissioner appeals dismissed our case without going into specific details of our various submissions and has not even responded on several specific arguments raised by us. The queris are:

(1) Can we obtain a copy of the record of hearing evidencing the submissions both verabl and documentary by us

(2) Can we ask for the order to be reconsidered or reviewed on the ground that it is passed 'without application of mind' as it has not even addresed the issues raised individually

(3) In case the order passed is as above does it not violate the board circulars in respect of the requirement that all authorities should respond on 'each issue' with 'analysis' and 'cogent reasoning' ?? and if it so violates our rights (other than appeal to the tribunal of course) ??

thanks

AI Summary

Service tax appeal dismissed without addressing key points; advice sought on obtaining hearing records for CESTAT appeal. A discussion on a service tax matter highlights concerns about an appeal dismissed by the Commissioner (Appeals) without addressing specific submissions. The querist seeks advice on obtaining a hearing record and reconsidering the order due to alleged oversight. Respondents advise that the only recourse is to appeal to the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), as the Commissioner cannot review their own decision. They emphasize the importance of a detailed record of hearings, though such records are often not provided. The consensus is to focus on strong legal arguments in the CESTAT appeal.