https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=798256 Reasonable cause under section 80 of the Finance Act, 1994 may protect an assessee from penalty where a bona fide and reasonable belief supports non-payment of service tax. Contemporaneous departmental communications supporting the view that the services were non-taxable can establish that reasonable cause. A finding that there was no wilful suppression of facts or intent to evade tax, particularly where the extended limitation period is unavailable, materially reinforces the absence of culpable conduct. On these grounds, penalty under section 78 was unwarranted and set aside. en-us Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:20:53 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=798256 Reasonable cause under section 80 of the Finance Act, 1994 may protect an assessee from penalty where a bona fide and reasonable belief supports non-payment of service tax. Contemporaneous departmental communications supporting the view that the services were non-taxable can establish that reasonable cause. A finding that there was no wilful suppression of facts or intent to evade tax, particularly where the extended limitation period is unavailable, materially reinforces the absence of culpable conduct. On these grounds, penalty under section 78 was unwarranted and set aside. Case-Laws GST Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=798256