TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 711
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....ief facts of the case are that the appellant, a proprietary firm and provider of Maintenance of Repair Service etc., filed Declaration in Form VCES - 1 under Service Tax 'Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013' (VCES) on 26.12.2013 declaring tax dues of Rs.45,77,179/- for the period from April 2011 to December 2011 on account of non-payment of service tax payable by them. Vide letter dated 27.12.2013, they informed that they had paid Service Tax of Rs.42,51,431/- towards the 'tax dues' and furnished copies of challans evidencing the same. The learned Designated Authority vide order dated 10.3.2014 rejected the payment of Rs.24,43,439/- as being deposited prior to the enactment of the VCES as the same came into effect from 10.05.201....
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....s of the Act and was invalid. He prayed that the impugned order of the First Appellate Authority may be set aside. 3.2 The Ld. Authorized Representative Smt. G. Kripa has taken us through the orders and provisions of the VCES. She prayed that the appeal may be rejected. 4. We have heard the rival parties are perused the appeals. Although no specific 'prayer' has been made in the Appeal Memorandum, Sl. No. 24 of Form ST - 5 states that relief claimed as: 'To set aside the order of the lower appellate authority in its entirety with consequential relief and pass such order as deemed fit and proper'. 5. The VCES was introduced in the Budget of 2013-14, as a beneficial legislation that offered a one-time amnesty for service tax defaulte....
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...., 2012 including a cess leviable thereon under any other Act for the time being in force, but not paid as on the 1st day of March, 2013. **** ***** ****** SECTION 107. Procedure for making declaration and payment of tax dues. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Scheme, a person may make a declaration to the designated authority on or before the 31st day of December, 2013 in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed. (2) The designated authority shall acknowledge the declaration in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed. (3) The declarant shall, on or before the 31st day of December, 2013, pay not less than fifty per cent of the tax dues so declared under sub-section (1) and submit pro....
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....has two requirements, apart from conditions which are not disputed, that go to the root of this dispute. (i) The service tax due or payable should pertain to the period beginning from 01.10.2007 and ending on 31.12.2012. (ii) It should not have been paid as on 01.03.2013. We find that it is not disputed that the 'tax dues' arose during the period from April 2011 to December 2011 and was hence covered by the term 'tax dues' as defined under the VCES. It is further not disputed that the dues were not paid as of 01.03.2013 and were paid between 14.03.2013 to 25.03.2013. The provisions of section 105(e) are hence satisfied. 8. Section 107 which prescribes the procedure for making declaration and payment of tax dues requi....
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....use injustice. Procedure, a handmaiden to justice, should never be made a tool to deny justice or perpetuate injustice, by any oppressive or punitive use. The well-recognised exceptions to this principle are: (i) where the statute prescribing the procedure, also prescribes specifically the consequence of non-compliance; (ii) where the procedural defect is not rectified, even after it is pointed out and due opportunity is given for rectifying it; (iii) where the non-compliance or violation is proved to be deliberate or mischievous; (iv) where the rectification of defect would affect the case on merits or will affect the jurisdiction of the court; (v) in case of memorandum of appeal, there is compl....