TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (2) TMI 969
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....nts have registered themselves under Service Tax and GST as applicable during the relevant periods for payment of tax; on the conduct of audit of the accounts of the appellants during July 2019 to October 2019, the appellants have paid the service tax along with interest as pointed out by the audit; however, after lapse of around eight months, Revenue issued a show-cause notice dated 25.06.2020 to the appellants demanding service tax of Rs.65,34,464/- along with interest of Rs.44,20,422/-; Commissioner vide Order-in-Original dated 29.01.2021 confirmed the demands with interest and appropriated the amounts already paid by the appellants; he further imposed penalty of Rs.10,000/- under Section 77 and penalty of Rs.9,80,170/- under Section 78 ....
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....its that they have maintained all the statutory records; they have submitted details/ documents as and when called for by the audit; the data required for issuance of showcause notice was taken out from their statutory records only; under the circumstances, it cannot be alleged that the appellant has suppressed facts with intent to evade payment of duty. He relies on the following cases: Nizam Sugar Factory - 2006 (197) ELT 465 (SC); Reliance Life Insurance Co. Ltd. - 2018 (363) ELT 1050 (Tri. Mumbai) Subhash Khandelwal & Sons - 2011 (24) STR 461 (Tri. Del.). Bright Marketing Company - 2020-TIOL-336-HC-MADST Adecco Flexione Workforce Solutions Ltd. - 2012 (26) STR 3 (Kar.) C.C.I. Logistics Ltd. - 2021 (54) GSTL 27 (Tri. Kol....
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.... a mere non-payment of service tax and non-filing of Returns would not be a sufficient reason to extend the period of limitation. I find that Hon'ble Karnataka High Court in the case of Adecco Flexione Workforce Solutions Ltd. (supra) held that: "3. Unfortunately the assessing authority as well as the appellate authority seem to think. If an assessee does not pay the tax within the stipulated time and regularly pays tax after the due date with interest. It is something which is not pardonable in law. Though the law does not say so, authorities working under the law seem to think otherwise and thus they are wasting that valuable time in proceeding against persons who are paying service tax with interest promptly. They are paid salary to ac....
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....ng audit but later disputed it which shows the appellant's intent to wilfully and deliberately suppress the facts. This reasoning of the Revenue cannot be accepted because there is nothing in the law which requires the assessee to accept the views of the audit or of the Revenue. There is nothing in the law by which an inference of intent to evade can be drawn if the assessee does not agree with the audit. It also does not matter if the assessee deposited the disputed amount as service tax during audit and later disputed it. Often, during audit or investigation, the assessee deposits some or all of the disputed amounts and later, on consideration or after seeking legal opinion, disputes the liability and seeks a notice or an adjudication ord....
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....ch it availed CENVAT credit and the appellant isnot required to and hence did not provide the details of the CENVAT Credit taken. It also needs to be pointed out that the Returns are filed online and therefore, it is also not possible to provide any details which are not part of the returns. If the format of ST-3 Returns is deficient in design and does not seek the details which the assessing officers may require to scrutinise them, the appellant cannot be faulted because as an assessee, the appellant neither makes the Rules nor designs the format of the Returns. So long as the assessee files the returns in the formats honestly as per its self-assessment, its obligation is discharged. 18. Another ground for invoking extended period of li....