Case Law Details
Bhaskar Steel and Ferro Alloys Pvt. Ltd. Vs Commissioner of CGST & Excise (CESTAT Kolkata)
Conclusion: Since the whole case of Revenue was based on the balance sheets of assessee who had declared all the transactions in their records and had even paid capital gains tax on the profit/compensation received, therefore, it could not be said that assessee had resorted to wilful mis-statement or suppression of facts or had contravened of any of the provisions of service tax law with intent to evade payment of service tax.
Held: In the instant case the show cause notice was dated 28.09.2018 whereas the period involved was 01.04.2013 to 31.03.2015. The demand had been raised by invoking the extended time limit under the proviso to section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994. The only ground for invoking the extended period was that the amounts were not reflected in the Service Tax returns filed by the appellants and that had the DGGI not intervened and unearthed the facts the activities of the appellants would not have come to surface. This was not a case where service tax returns were not filed at all. The case of the department was that the amounts recovered from the 11 companies listed above were not reflected in the said returns. The whole case was based on the balance sheets of the appellants. The appellants had declared all the transactions in their records and had even paid capital gains tax on the profit/compensation received.
Hence, it could not be said that the appellants had resorted to wilful mis-statement or suppression of facts or had contravened of any of the provisions of service tax law with intent to evade payment of service tax. Courts have consistently held that the extended time limit can be invoked only if there is a positive act on the part of an assessee to conceal anything from the department. There must be a deliberate attempt to suppress information for invoking the extended period. Therefore, it was held that no ground had been made out to justify invoking the extended time limit. The demand was, therefore, barred by limitation.
FULL TEXT OF THE CESTAT KOLKATA ORDER
Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.
Author Bio
