2019 (3) TMI 1186

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.... exterior), watering including cleaning of pit lines and stabling lines at coaching depots at various stations under various Railway zones of Indian Railways. The petitioner had entered into various agreements with South Western Railway, South Central Railway and other Zonal Railways of the Indian Railways vide several agreements. It is the contention of the petitioner that the tenders were quoted based on the Mega Notification issued by the Ministry of Finance by virtue of which the contractors are exempted from the payment of service tax under the contracts where services are rendered to the Governmental authority for carrying out the work of sanitation conservancy. 3. It is the grievance of the petitioner that the respondent No.2 had ....

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....laced reliance on the judgment of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal in Appeal No.ST/55322 & 58124/2013 (D.D.22.01.2018) 7. Learned counsel argued that the order impugned is non-est in the eye of law since the order is passed without jurisdiction inasmuch as bringing the cleaning activity, the services rendered to the railways as a taxable service ignoring the Mega Notification issued by the Ministry of Finance referred to above. 8. Learned counsel Sri. Shivayogiswamy for the Revenue would contend that the writ petition is not maintainable in view of the alternative statutory remedy of appeal available under the Finance Act, 1994. The interpretation of the Notification/applicability of the Notification vis-à-v....

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....n but the mixed questions of fact and law which necessarily requires to be adjudicated before the appellate Forum, the machinery provided under the statute. 12. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Raj Kumar Shivhare, supra, has observed that if the appellant is allowed to file a writ petition despite the existence of an efficacious remedy by way of appeal under Section 35 of FEMA this will enable him to defeat the provisions of the statute which may provide for certain conditions for filing the appeal, like limitation, payment of court fee or deposit of some amount of penalty or fulfillment of some other conditions for entertaining the appeal. It is observed that a writ court should not encourage the aforesaid trend of bypassing a ....