2016 (2) TMI 726

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....oner of Service Tax, Division-III, Delhi. 2. M/s RITES, vide their application dated 24th June 1998, had sought refund claim of ` 13,05,690/- being tax stated to have been paid in excess as providers of "consulting engineers" service. They also sought clarification from the Directorate General of Service Tax, Central Board of Excise and Customs, on their entitlement for refund because operation and maintenance of railway tracks as well as maintenance of rolling stock did not fall within the ambit of that taxable entry. Director General of Service Tax informed the appellant that the service rendered by them was taxable under that head as defined under section 45(48) of the Finance Act, 1994. During the pendency of this clarification, appe....

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....t the impugned order has failed to appreciate the amendments made w.e.f. 12th May 2000 which extended the period of refund from six months to one year. 5. Learned Authorized Representative contends that the order which had been set aside had not adjudicated upon the issue of limitation and hence it was open to the proper officer to issue a show-cause notice and adjudicate thereon. 6. We have hard the rival contentions and cannot but fail to note that this is the second round of appeal. The orders of the first appellate authority in the first round are crystal clear in setting aside the rejection of the refund claim after detailed appreciation of facts and circumstances in which the tax had been paid by the appellant besides taking int....

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....n to release the refund sought. In any proceedings under the tax laws, jurisdiction and limitation of time are the twin legs of maintainability. These are not subject to discretion of flexibility by condonation and, thereby, a decision on merit ' in favour of, or to the detriment of, the applicant' implicitly accepts the maintainability of the proceedings. To reverse the legal sequence subsequently by raising maintainability in a fresh proceeding after having decided on merit is not only an act of impropriety but is also indicative of an obduracy that exceeds normal fidelity to the institution. 10. Tax is, fundamentally, an intrusion into individual liberty; it is tolerated and finds acceptance to the extent that the competent legislativ....