2011 (7) TMI 492

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....has been collected by the appellant from the service recipient and not deposited with the department. The lower appellate authority has upheld the demand against the appellant leading to this appeal before the Tribunal. Shri Sameer Agrawal, ld. Advocate appearing for the appellant argues that :- (a) The appellants have provided leased lined service which is taxable only w.e.f. 16-7-01 subsequent to the amendments made by the Finance Act, 2001 being notified, (b) The Tribunal in case of Chennai Telephones (BSNL) v. CCE, Chennai - 2004 (169) E.L.T. 222 (Tri.-Chennai = 2006 (3) S.T.R. 227 (Tri.-Chennai) has held that leased circuit to telephone users is different from telephone service and is taxable only w.e.f. 16-7-01. (c) The railways and c....

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....04 for depositing the service tax amount not paid by the appellants but the assessee neither deposited the service tax amount nor they had declared the value of the taxable service in their ST3 returns and hence they were guilty of suppression with intention to evade service tax. He states that accordingly the demand was made u/s 73 and the contention of the ld. Advocate to the contrary is not correct. He also states that during the course of audit, it was found that the appellants have provided impugned telephone circuits through ACSR/copper wire which was capable of speech circuit as well as for PBX/PABX use and therefore, the impugned service was taxable as telephone service even prior to a separate entry being carved out for leased line....

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.... on the said circuits also. However, he has not been able to adduce any evidence or show from the case records that this is so and hence this submission of ld. Advocate is subject to verification. 5. In view of the fact that the leased lines provided through ACSR/copper wire provided voice communication, said leased circuits, in our considered view have been rightly held to be covered under the existing entry for telephone service even prior to the period 16-7-01. To that extent the tax demand is justified. The leased line  provided through iron wire which is capable of only data communication cannot be brought under the ambit of the entry for telephone service prior to 16-7-01. 6. Ld. Advocate has made a submission tha....