Globe Ground India Private Ltd. Vs Commissioner of CGST (CESTAT Delhi)
The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in Globe Ground India Pvt. Ltd. vs Commissioner of CGST (order dated 14 October 2025) allowed the assessee’s appeal by holding that the extended limitation period under the proviso to Section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994, could not be invoked in the absence of any evidence of wilful suppression or intent to evade service tax.
The case concerned a dispute for the financial years 2014–15 to the first quarter of 2017–18. The department had issued a show cause notice dated 21 October 2019, well beyond the normal limitation period of 18 months (later extended to 30 months), alleging that certain irregularities were found during an audit. The notice demanded service tax on (i) ₹2,24,570 relating to imported services, (ii) ₹16,10,068 for non-reversal of Cenvat credit under Rule 6(3) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, and (iii) ₹690 on account of excess income. The extended five-year period was invoked by the department on the grounds that non-payment and short payment of tax were discovered only during audit and were not discernible from the ST-3 returns.
The appellant contended that all ST-3 returns had been filed regularly, and there was no concealment of material facts. It was argued that discovery during audit did not, by itself, establish suppression or misstatement, nor could it prove intent to evade tax.
