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2024 (2) TMI 198 - AT - Service TaxLevy of service tax - advance payment received from their clients (and accounted under the head ‘debtors’ indicating negative) - invocation of extended period of limitation - suppression of facts or not - HELD THAT:- The appellant maintained a current account with the network firms and by issue of debit notes they were able to make adjustments of the amount to the paid and to be received by them in respect of network firms. It is seen that the network firms have raised invoices on the appellant collecting the Service Tax from the appellant. For the payments along with Service Tax made to network firms the appellant has availed credit of such Service Tax as input service and there is no dispute in this regard. The appellant has availed Cenvat Credit of the Service Tax collected from them by network firms. This means the net work firms have collected Service Tax from appellant and discharged their liability. The department has no dispute on the Cenvat Credit availed by appellant in this regard. So also there is no dispute that appellant has not discharged Service Tax on the payments received for providing services. The allegation is that they did not discharge Service Tax on advance payments. As already stated, there is no evidence of any transactions of receiving advance payment which has escaped payment of tax. The accounting of amount under the head negative debtors is assumed by department as advance payments. The department has not been able to correctly establish the basis of demand and has raised the demand on a suspicion of the accounting done under the head Debtors with negative marking - thus the demand cannot sustain. The issue on merit is answered in favour of appellant. Extended period of limitation - Suppression of facts or not - HELD THAT:- The department has failed to establish any positive act of suppression on the part of the appellant. The demand raised invoking the extended period is therefore not sustainable. The appellant succeeds on the issue of limitation also. The impugned order is set aside. The appeal is allowed.
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