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2015 (7) TMI 592 - AT - Service TaxExtended period of limitation - bonafide belief - Penalty u/s 77 & 78 - Site Formation, Clearance. Excavation, earth moving and demolishing service - Held that:- Payment was made by cheques dated 17.06.2006 and 21.06.2006 for the services rendered as per the work order dated 17.06.2006 and the bill in respect thereof was issued by the appellant on 18.08.2006. Thus, there is no doubt that the Show Cause Notice dated 05.05.2011 was issued within a period of five years, which is the extended period available for issuing the same in case of wilful mis-statement/suppression of facts on the part of the appellant with intent to evade payment of service tax. - Perusal of Section 73 ibid makes it clear that the only requirement for Revenue to be able to invoke extended period of five years is to establish suppression, collusion or wilful mis-statement with intent to evade service tax and the date on which Revenue discovered or became aware is not a variable in this equation. Perusal of Section 73 ibid makes it clear that the only requirement for Revenue to be able to invoke extended period of five years is to establish suppression, collusion or wilful mis-statement with intent to evade service tax and the date on which Revenue discovered or became aware is not a variable in this equation. - impugned order clearly notes that the said amount was not reflected in the ST-3 return which itself is sufficient to establish suppression of facts on the part of the appellant to evade service tax. Further, the details about the said payment received were never submitted by the appellant during the enquiry. Indeed, the said details were, (had to be), obtained from the service recipient (SICCL). It is on record that Investigating Officer asked the appellant vide letter dated 02.02.2010 to submit the facts and figures, copies of work order, bank statement, etc., but the same were never supplied by the appellant and it was only then that the Investigating Officer called for the information/ details from the service recipient, SICCL. Mere perusal of the definition vis-a-vis the description of work (service) done by the appellant does not leave any scope to even entertain a reasonable doubt, leave alone reasonable belief, that the service rendered may not be covered under the said definition. Mere non-mention of the particular clause of the definition in the Show Cause Notice when the definition is so graphically clear could in no way jeopardise the appellant's ability to defend itself and the defence submitted by the appellant is ample evidence thereof and therefore the same (i.e., such non-mention) is inconsequential. - there was no scope for any confusion even with regard to the said exclusion. It needs to be mentioned that the bona fide belief is not a hallucinatory opinion of an uninformed person. Exemption under Notification No.17/2005-ST, dated 07.06.2005 that is applicable to the site formation and clearance, excavation and earthmoving and demolishing and such other similar activities referred to in sub-clause (97a) and (zzza) of clause 105 of Section 65 of the Act. provided by any person in the course of construction of roads, airports, railways, transport terminals, bridges, tunnels, dams, ports or other ports. No elaborate discussion is needed to state that the service rendered by the appellant was not in the course of construction of roads, airport, railways, transport terminal, bridges, tunnels, dams, ports or other ports and therefore, the said Notification (No.17/2005-ST) is clearly not attracted in this case. - No infirmity in the impugned order warranting appellate intervention - Decided against assessee.
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