2003 (6) TMI 6

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..... , 1994 to March, 1999. Commissioner (Appeals) rejected the contention raised by the appellant that service tax along with the amount due under the bill of each subscriber was being paid to the account of the Central Government on day-to-day basis at the close of each working day and merely because there is a delay in crediting the service tax by way of a book transfer to the book account of the Central Government under Head 0044 will not make the appellant liable for interest. Aggrieved by the above, the General Manager Telecom has come up in appeal. 2. It is contended by the learned Counsel for the appellant that they were following the procedure prescribed in the matter of payment of the bill amount along with service tax prescribe .....

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..... n directed to pay interest for the delayed payment during the relevant period. 3. The learned Counsel for the appellant brought to our notice an order a similar demand for interest for delayed payment of service charges by Tirunelveli Telecom District Manager, was dropped by the Assistant Commissioner, Tirunelveli Division accepting the explanation offered as in the present case. He has also pointed out that the very same Commissioner (Appeals) who had passed the order impugned has accepted identical contentions raised by General Manager Telecommunication Ltd., Ludhiana in his order dated 5-9-2000 and set aside the order passed by the original authority directing payment of interest. The learned Counsel, therefore, submits that there .....

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..... 999. Thereafter the General Manager is directly crediting the service tax to the book account of the Central Government under the Head 0044 in view of a circular issued in the year 1998. Thus the delay caused by the statement being sent to DOT Headquarters is avoided. In the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case where the appellant is a Central Government Department and that it had been strictly following the procedure approved by Principal Chief Controller of Accounts and which procedure has resulted in the delay and the fact that the amount received from the subscribers were deposited on a day to day basis in the Post Office to the account of the Central Government, we find that the appellant cannot be burdened with the liability .....

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