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2015 (6) TMI 269 - AT - Service TaxPenalty under Sections 76, 77 and 78 - before issue of show-cause notice, the entire amount of tax was paid and before issue of adjudication order, interest was also paid - Held that:- appellant was not aware of the provisions of law and as a result, continued to operate as they were operating earlier. The fact is that both the Revenue as well as the assessee are relying upon the balance sheet and the Profit & Loss Account for arriving at the quantum of service charges received and no other documents are admittedly available either with the assessee or with the Department. There is no dispute about the total liability or the total service amount received. The Accountant also promptly stated that they have made a mistake and they would pay the tax and interest. The intention behind introduction of provisions of Section 80 is precisely to ensure that assessees who did not pay the tax can make the payment with interest and lenient view can be taken as regards penalty in cases where there is lack of knowledge and reasonable cause. The very fact that the section continues to be in existence for a long time shows that the intention of the Government is to provide relief where there is a reasonable cause for failure to make payment and Hon'ble High Court of Allahabad in the case of CCE Vs. Muniruddin [2013 (10) TMI 95 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] has taken a view that even ignorance of law can be one of the reasons, though cannot be sole ground for invoking Section 80. - appellant has made out a case for waiver of penalty by invoking Section 80 of Finance Act. Accordingly, penalties imposed under various sections of Finance Act, 1994 are waived - Decided in favour of assessee.
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