SEHGAL AUTOMOBILES Vs. COMMR. OF C. EX.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHRI Kamal Jeet Singh, ld. Counsel is fair to say that his client does not intend to perpetuate the litigation as tax and interest have already been paid.

(2.) There was no element of any evasion for which no penalty should sustain. Further the appellant is registered under Finance Act, 1994. Therefore, waiving requirement of pre -deposit, appeal may be disposed. Ld. Representative for Revenue supports the order of the authority below. It is surprising that the show cause notice does not show what was the service provided by the appellant. The adjudicating authority also did not whisper about the nature of service which caused demand. But the appellate authority made discovery in para 2 of the order that the appellant was registered as authorized service station service provider. Even that authority did not find whether the liability arose out of adjudication related to that service. Without a foundation in show cause notice, orders of the authorities below failed to get approval by judicial scrutiny. But the appellant is fair to suggest that they do not want to perpetuate litigation. Keeping the spirit of the suggestion, stay application is allowed and the adjudication is to be confined to the tax and interest paid by the appellant. There shall be no penalty at all under any of the provisions of the Finance Act, 1994. Even it would not be proper to penalize the appellant under Sections 76 and 78, when the first appellate authority waived the penalty under Section 77 itself. Thus appeal is allowed to the aforesaid extent partly. Before parting with this order it is preferable to invite attention of the ld. Chief Commissioner to issue appropriate letter to the concerned jurisdictional Commissioner that the aforesaid lapse of Revenue should not be repeated by the Officers as Officers of Union of India who are entrusted with the responsibility to protect interest of Revenue. In the result, both stay application and appeal disposed in the manner indicated above.