TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (4) TMI 116
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....08.12.2016 (Annexure P-4). 2. The petitioners are cable operators carrying on business of cable services at Amritsar. The respondents are the Union of India, Central Board of Excise and Customs and two officials of the Central Excise & Service Tax department. 3. The petitioners were not registered with the Service Tax department during the period from 01.10.2009 to 30.06.2012. They were providing cable services to various consumers. During the audit of M/s Fastway Transmission Pvt. Ltd., Ludhiana (for short, `M/s Fastway'), the respondents found that M/s Fastway was acting as Multi-system Operator and receiving its share of subscription amount from the cable operators who were providing cable services to the consumers. Show ....
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....s raised. 6. The petitioners' reliance on a notification dated 19.04.2007 to contend that only Commissioners of Central Excise have been conferred power under Section 83A of the Finance Act, 1994 (for short, `the Act') is not well founded. 7. Section 83A of the Act, Rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 (for short, `the Rules'), notification No. 30/2005-Service Tax dated 10.08.2005 and notification No. 16/2007-Service Tax dated 19.04.2007 : read as under :- (A) Section 83A of the Act - Power of adjudication Where under this Chapter or the rules made thereunder any person is liable to a penalty, such penalty may be adjudged by the Central Excise Officer conferred with such power as the Central Board of Exc....
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.... Additional Commissioner of Central Excise Above Rs. 20 lakhs but not exceeding Rs. 50 lakhs (4). Commissioner Excise of Central Without limit Provided that nothing contained in this notification shall be applicable where a decision or order passed under Chapter V of the said Finance Act or the rules made thereunder has been referred back to any authority which passed such decision or order, with such directions, for a fresh adjudication or decision, as the case may be. 2. This notification shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. F. No. 341/31/2005-TRU Ajay Under Secretary to the Governm....
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..... The power is conferred by the Central Board of Excise and Customs by a notification. As per Rule 3 the Board may appoint the Central Excise Officers and also assign the local limits and specify the taxable services. In exercise of power conferred under Section 83A of the Act, the Board issued the notification dated 10.08.2005. Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner and Commissioner of Central Excise were appointed as Central Excise Officers and their monetary limits for purpose of adjudication were fixed in column (3) of the notification. 8. The argument of the petitioners solely relying on notification dated 19.04.2007 is misplaced. The notification of 2007 is not in supersession of th....
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....ebate), shall be adjudicated by the Deputy Commissioner/ Assistant Commissioner without any monetary limit ii. In case different show cause notices have been issued on the same issue answerable to different adjudicating authorities, Show Cause Notices involving the same issue shall be adjudicated by the adjudicating authority competent to decide the case involving the highest amount of duty. 11.5 In case different show cause notices have been issued on the same issue to same noticee(s) answerable to different adjudicating authorities, Show Cause Notices involving the same issue shall be adjudicated by the adjudicating authority competent to decide the case involving the highest amount of duty. 11. The contention i....
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....nsolidate similar notices throughout the country at one place. The purpose of the clause to save noticees from harassment would be defeated. In fact their predicament would be far worse. The petitioners' contention if accepted would require notices from all over the country to travel to another place to contest the notices. Further, if all similar notices are to be decided by one Central Excise Officer, the adjudicating process may never conclude. Take a case where the adjudicating authority dealing with several notices of a similar nature of various noticees has commenced and is about to conclude the proceedings and at that stage, another similar notice is issued to other noticee, in whose case the amount involved is higher. If the pet....