2005 (6) TMI 1

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..... For the Respondent : C. Mani, DR Order P.G. Chacko, Member (J) 1. The appellants are providers of taxable services. They committed default of payment of Service tax for various quarters of the years 1998-2001. The tax for this period was paid only on 12-3-2002. The party also did not file ST-3 Returns within the prescribed time for various half-years of 1999-2001. Ultimately they fil....

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....on 76 or under Section 77 of the Finance Act. It is submitted that the delay of payment of tax and that of filing of returns were satisfactorily explained by the assessee, but such explanation was ignored. According to ld. Counsel the benefit of Section 80 of the Finance Act, 1994 was available to the assessee in the facts of this case. He has relied on the Tribunal's decision in Mukund K. Roo....

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....st prior to issuance of the relevant show cause notice. Delay of payment of service tax is a cause of action for penalty under Section 76. This provision of law does not take into account circumstances such as those pointed out today by ld. Counsel. Section 77 is invocable against a Service tax assessee who makes delay in filing of ST-3 Returns. Again, this provision is regardless of the above cir....

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....of the Finance Act, 1994. It needs to be mentioned that financial difficulty is not a circumstance beyond one's control. It is something, for which remedies are available in the commercial world. What Section 80 envisages is a cause or reason (for delayed payment of service tax) which is beyond the assessee's control and could be brought home to a quasi judicial authority to its satisfacti....