DAMODAR VALLEY CORPORATION Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX, CENTRAL EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX DEPARTMENT, RANCHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these petitions, order in original passed by the Additional Commissioner, Central Excise, Ranchi dated 31st December, 2012, is under challenge. For the reference, Writ Petition (Tax) No. 1290 of 2013 is treated as main matter.

(2.) Counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that petitioner is service receiver and the respondent no. 3 (in writ petition no. 1290/2013 is service provider). The service tax is to be levied from the service provider and not from the service receiver as per the Finance Act, 1994. Counsel Ms. Amrita Sinha has vehemently submitted that order in original passed by Additional Commissioner, Central Excise, Ranchi dated 31st December, 2012, insofar as it affects the present petitioner deserves to be quashed and set aside mainly for the reasons that the order is travelling beyond the show-cause notice. Secondly, there are observations made by the Additional Commissioner, Central Excise, Ranchi which affects the petitioner. The impugned order which is at Annexure -2 to the memo of writ petition, has been passed without giving any notice to the petitioner, nor any opportunity of being heard has been given to the petitioner and therefore, the observations in the order in original which read as under deserves to be quashed and set aside:

(3.) It is also submitted by the counsel for the petitioners in all these writ petitions that the observations of the order in original is against the provision of law and in gross violation of principle of natural justice and hence violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and therefore, the aforesaid paragraphs of the order in original passed by the Additional Commissioner, Central Excise, Ranchi dated 31st December, 2012 may kindly be quashed and set aside.