06 - Registration

In the case of KaramChand Thaper & Bros. [2009 (7) TMI 715 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURT]  it was held that:

No. The provisions of the Finance Act, 1994 do not empower the Superintendent of Central Excise or the Commissioner of Central Excise to refuse an application for registration. There is also no provision in the Service Tax Rules, 1994 for refusal of an application for registration. If the registration application in Form ST 1 and/or ST 2, as the case may be, is complete and properly filled up, registration would have to be granted.

No. The Commissioner of Central Excise and the Superintendent of Central Excise have no power to grant registration on their own, even though no application for registration might be made. 

No. There is no provision either in the Finance Act, 1994 or in the Service Tax Rules, 1994, where under an application for registration can be refused. As rightly argued by Mr. Poddar, registration can only be granted in the category in respect of which the application for registration has been submitted. Recovery and/or penal proceedings might be initiated against a person for non-payment of service tax, if the service provider is taxable under a different category.

 

Registration refusal prohibited: complete service tax applications must be accepted and authorities cannot register suo moto. A complete and properly filled application in Form ST-1 and/or ST-2 must be accepted; there is no statutory power under the Finance Act, 1994 or the Service Tax Rules, 1994 for the Superintendent or the Commissioner to refuse registration, nor to grant registration suo moto. Registration is confined to the category specified in the application, and non-alignment with the correct category may attract recovery or penal proceedings.