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2024 (1) TMI 1214 - AT - Service TaxLevy of service tax - services on which service recipients have discharged tax liability - main contractors have already paid the tax on their behalf - time limitation - HELD THAT:- The Tribunals / Courts have been accepting tax payment by the service recipient as valid payment as the same was revenue neutral exercise till 2020, thereafter, the issue stands settled and it is service provider / sub-contractor to pay tax even if the main contractor / service recipient has discharged the tax liability on his behalf (Appellant) - this was a legal dispute which involved interpretation of law and mala-fide intention or suppression with intent to evade payment of service tax cannot be attributed to the Appellant. Extended period of limitation - HELD THAT:- The Court has observed that extended period of 5 years is not invokable when there is no willful misstatement or suppression involved. Mere failure to pay duty without any collusion, fraud or willful misstatement not sufficient to invoke extended period of limitation. Thus matter was in the knowledge of the department in 2010 when the first audit was conducted and thereafter regular audit was conducted every year, but the show-cause-notice was issued in 16.10.2014 without carrying out any investigation and without adducing any new corroborative evidence for invoking any suppression in the show-cause-notice in as much as service tax was also demanded on the exempted services valued at Rs.11,67,04,375/- pertaining to construction of PMGSY roads. The impugned order holding that the extended period has been correctly invoked, therefore, cannot be sustained and is set aside. It would, in such circumstances, not be necessary to examine the issues on merits that have been raised by the learned counsel for the Appellant. Appeal allowed.
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