Saket Auto Traders Vs Commissioner of Central Excise & CGST (CESTAT Allahabad)
The appeal was filed against Order-in-Appeal No. 164/ST/Alld/2022 dated 01.08.2022 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), Allahabad. The appellant was registered for providing Insurance Auxiliary Services and Maintenance or Repair Services under the Finance Act, 1994. Based on information received from the Income Tax Department, the Department found that during the period October 2014 to June 2017, the appellant had reported gross receipts of ₹1,31,74,925 in its income tax records, whereas the taxable value disclosed in ST-3 returns was only ₹20,36,069. The resulting difference of ₹1,11,38,856 led the Department to compute a service tax short payment of ₹15,69,838.
The Department sought explanations and reconciliation through various letters, but no information was furnished by the appellant. It was also found that certain ST-3 returns were filed belatedly and some returns were not filed at all. Accordingly, the Department invoked the extended period of limitation under Section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994 and issued a show cause notice proposing recovery of service tax, interest, penalties, and late fees.
The adjudicating authority confirmed the service tax demand of ₹15,69,838 along with interest, imposed a penalty of ₹10,000 under Section 77(2) for non-payment of service tax, imposed a penalty equal to the tax demand under Section 78, levied a further penalty of ₹20,000 for failure to file returns for certain periods, and imposed late fees of ₹63,000.
