SRJ EDU Services Pvt. Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Central Goods & Services Tax (CESTAT Allahabad)
The appeal before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Allahabad, arose from an Order-in-Appeal dated 30.06.2025 by the Commissioner (Appeals), CGST Meerut, which had set aside an Order-in-Original dated 10.07.2024 and partially remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority for fresh examination.
The appellant was registered under the Service Tax regime with three registration numbers. Based on third-party information from the Income Tax Department for FY 2016-17, discrepancies were noticed between income declared in Income Tax Returns (ITR) and ST-3 returns. Consequently, three show cause notices (SCNs) were issued in October 2021 invoking the extended period under Section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994, proposing demands of service tax, interest, penalties under Sections 77 and 78, and late fees under Section 70.
The SCNs were adjudicated in October 2023, confirming demands and imposing penalties. On appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) remanded the matter for fresh adjudication regarding centralized registration. In remand proceedings, the adjudicating authority dropped all demands, holding that the extended period of limitation was not invocable since the appellant had been audited earlier and the Department had examined ITRs, ST-3 returns, balance sheets, ledgers, invoices, and other records. An earlier audit for April 2014 to June 2017 had resulted in a separate SCN dated 30.08.2019, adjudicated in August 2020.
