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2021 (2) TMI 514 - HC - Service TaxJurisdiction to impose penalty - Levy of late fee payable under Rule 7C of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 - submission of petitioner is that late fee was imposed beyond the scope of the Show Cause Notice cannot be countenanced in as much as the returns were filed belatedly by the petitioner after the issuance of Show Cause Notice - HELD THAT:- If the Petitioner had filed its periodical returns under Section 70 of the Finance Act, 1994 read with Rule 7C of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 belatedly prior to the issue show cause notice and if there was a deficit in the payment of late fee and if no proposal was made in the show cause notice to recover such late fee, the arguments of the learned counsel for the petitioner can be considered. Therefore, it would be incorrect to state that the first respondent Settlement Commission was not justified and asking the petitioner to pay a late fee of ₹ 1,46,000/- for delayed filing of returns while passing the impugned order. Further, before the Settlement Commission, the petitioner had prayed for waiver of late fee as the petitioner was facing the extreme financial constraints. In the alternative, the petitioner prayed for time to pay the late fee. Since the petitioner himself offered to pay the late fee of ₹ 1,28,000/- instead of ₹ 1,66,000/- as was demanded by the respondents, there is no justification in this Writ Petition - Further, under the Scheme of Section 32F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as made applicable for settling of cases under the Finance Act, 1994, it is to be observed that every order passed by the Settlement Commission is final and conclusive and therefore such orders of the Settlement Commission cannot be interfered. Unless the order passed by the Settlement Commission is contrary to the provisions of the Act, it cannot challenged. The Court while exercising its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is also not concerned with the correctness or otherwise of the decision arrived by the Settlement Commission or Tribunal whose orders are challenged before it unless there is perversity in the order impugned before it or there was a material irregularity in the procedure followed by such Tribunal while passing the order impugned before it which had caused prejudice to the petitioner or there was a violation of Principles of Natural Justice. The petitioner has not made out a case for any interference as the petitioner himself agreed to pay the late fee of ₹ 1,28,000/- before the first respondent Settlement Commission - petition dismissed.
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