NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Vs. UNION OF INDIA THROUGH, JOINT SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, MUMBAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this Writ Petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioner is aggrieved by issuance of Form SVLDRS-3 dtd. 19/2/2020 by the Designated Committee making a demand of Rs.37,67,015.00 on the ground that the tax dues comprise of only duty amount and, therefore, only deposit of any stage is allowed under Sec. 124 (2) of the Finance Act, 2019 pertaining to the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 ("SVLDRS").

(2.) Petitioner is a public trust registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and is a non profit institution registered under Service Tax Law since 12/8/2003 and is subsequently also registered under GST Law from 1/7/2017 and is engaged in providing various services such as holding entertainment events, renting out auditoriums, sponsorship etc., some of which services were/are liable to service tax/GST and some were exempt and some were partly taxable and partly exempt.

(3.) Pursuant to Excise Audit (EA 2000), audit of the records of the Petitioner for the financial years 2013-2014 to 2017-2018 (upto June 2017), conducted by the audit Group of the Service Tax Department during the month of November, 2018 and December, 2018, a Show Cause Notice dtd. 14/2/2019 was issued by the Principal Commissioner, CGST, Audit-I, Mumbai demanding a sum of Rs.2,93,47,926.00 as service tax for alleged wrong availment of CENVAT credit by the Petitioner alongwith applicable interest and penalty under Sec. 78 of Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994.