SANJOGITA CONSTRUCTION Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appeal is directed against Order -in -Appeal No. SR/158/NGP/2009 dated 17.7.2009 passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise & Customs (Appeals), Nagpur.

(2.) THE Appellant M/s Sanjogita Construction are providers of taxable service falling under category of maintenance and repair. They collected a service tax of Rs. 1,33,090/ - for the said service rendered to the customers from October 2006 to March 2007 but did not remit the same to the exchequer nor did they file the service tax returns for the said period. When the case was detected by the department the Appellant paid the service tax along with interest thereon. A show -cause notice was issued to the Appellant proposing to recover the service tax of Rs. 1,30,477/ - along with interest thereon under Sections 73 and75 of the Finance Act, 1994 and also proposing to impose penalties for the failure to pay service tax. The case was adjudicated by the Jurisdictional Additional Commissioner vide order dated 30.12.2008 who confirmed the demand for service tax of Rs. 1,30,477/ - along with interest thereon and also imposed a penalty of Rs. 200/ - per day amounting to Rs. 39000/ - for failure to pay service tax from the date on which service tax should have been discharged till the date of actual payment of service tax.

(3.) THE counsel for the Appellant submits that they had filed the ST -3 Returns for the period October 2006 to March 2007 on 5.10.07 wherein they had intimated the department about payment of service tax on 27.3.2007 and 21.7.2007 for the period October - December 2006 and in the instant case the show -cause notice has been issued on 16.4.2008. Inasmuch as they paid the service tax prior to the issue of show -cause notice they are not liable to any penalty in view of the provisions of Sub -section (3) of Section 73 of the Finance Act, 1944.