Case Law Details
R. Ramadas Vs Joint Commissioner of Central Excise (Madras High Court)
The issue under consideration is whether the show cause notice indicate the exact amount of service demanded in the respective services under Service Tax?
In the instant case, the department issued the show cause notice proposing the demand service tax on Manpower Recruitment or Supply Agency; Management, Maintenance or Repair services; Works Contract and Commercial or Industrial Construction.
High Court states that apparently, the demand of service under the aforesaid heads were not specifically proposed in the show cause notice. Furthermore, the petitioner had expressed his inability to raise his objections to the show cause notice since the notice did not indicate the respective services under which the proposal for demand of service tax was made. However, without adhering to his objections, the impugned adjudication order has been passed. The very purpose of the show cause notice issued is to enable the recipient to raise objections, if any, to the proposals made and the concerned Authority are required to address such objections raised. This is the basis of the fundamental Principles of Natural Justice. In cases where the consequential demand traverses beyond the scope of the show cause notice, it would be deemed that no show cause notice has been given, for that particular demand for which a proposal has not been made. Thus, as rightly pointed out by the learned counsel for the petitioner, the impugned adjudication order cannot be sustained, since it traverses beyond the scope of the show cause notice and is also vague and without any details. Accordingly, such an adjudication order without a proposal and made in pursuant of a vague show cause notice cannot be sustained.
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