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2015 (5) TMI 703 - AT - Service TaxArchitectural services - Receipt of professional fees - Failure to provide details of fees received - appellant were not collecting and paying service tax on the value of taxable services - Held that:- Appellant having discharged the service tax liability and the interest thereof, before the due date as was granted by the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay and two other petitioners who were rendering the same services are entitled for the relief as granted by the Hon'ble High Court., i.e. no penalty be imposed on them. We do not find any reason to deny the relief of setting aside of penalties. We also find strong force in the contention raised by the learned Chartered Accountant having discharged the entire tax liability and the interest thereof in the first place, revenue should not have issued show-cause notice to the appellant. We find that justifiable cause is made out by the appellant for setting aside the penalties imposed on him under Section 76 & 78 of the Finance Act, 1994. Accordingly, invoking the provisions of Section 80 of the Finance Act, 1994 we set aside the penalties imposed on the appellant under this head. Appellant is not able to explain why there are no bill numbers and the description in the bills also do not have any details to come to a conclusion that the architectural services were rendered by the appellant prior to 16/10/98. In all probabilities, few of the bills which were raised before 16/10/98 could also be for the services rendered after 16/10/98. In the absence of any concrete evidence that services were rendered before 16/10/98. We are of the considered view, that appellant has not made out any case in his favour as regards the service tax liability of ₹ 7,83,241. Appellant could have entertained a bonafide belief that the services rendered by him being prior to 16/10/98, the payments received for such services after the date, are not liable for service tax. Accordingly, invoking the provisions of Section 80, we set aside the penalties imposed on the appellant under this head. - Decided partly in favour of assessee.
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