Home Case Index All Cases Service Tax Service Tax + AT Service Tax - 2014 (1) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2014 (1) TMI 823 - AT - Service TaxDenial of refund claim - Writing off of claims - Held that:- service tax is payable on the receipt of the amount for the services provided. If a party files a refund claim on the ground that he had paid the tax on the basis of billed amount but the same had not been received, the refund can be sanctioned after verifying whether the amount has been received or not. This is because if and when the amount is received, in the concerned month the appellant is duty bound to pay service tax on the amount so collected - even though provisions of section 11B of Central Excise Act, 1944 have been made applicable to service tax matters, the levy of service tax and levy of excise duty are on different basis all together. The liability for excise duty arises as soon as the goods are manufactured and the payment has to be made at the time of removal. That is the reason why even when the goods are destroyed, the duty on goods have to be remitted and if the same is not remitted by the concerned proper officer, the excise duty becomes payable. Therefore, it has to be seen whether the liability to pay has arisen or not. Quite often the write off of a debt takes place after a long time of the event taking place because man lives on hope. There is always a hope that the other person may pay and therefore one chooses to wait for the same. Further, it can be said that there is a legal remedy available and the service provider may choose to file a civil suit against the person who has received the service. Till such civil suit is finalized, the amount may not be written off. We all know how long it takes for civil suits to get finalized in this country - after the order was passed by the learned Commissioner (A), the refund was sanctioned by the concerned refund sanctioning authority and a protective show-cause notice has been issued raising the same grounds which are in the appeal filed by the Revenue. It was also submitted that now the amount has been written off and Chartered Accountant s certificate to that extent is available. If that is the position, the objection taken by the Revenue also gets sorted out. Under these circumstances, the show-cause notice can be decided taking the observations made hereinabove into consideration - Decided against Revenue.
|