Manoharan.G vs. The Commissioner Of CGST And Central Excise

Facts

The petitioner, a contractor with the PWD Department of Tamil Nadu, received a show cause notice on December 28, 2020, proposing to levy service tax and penalty for the period April 1, 2015, to June 30, 2017. This followed a withdrawal of exemption for services provided to the Government by Notification No. 6/2015-Service Tax dated March 1, 2015. The petitioner submitted an explanation, but the 2nd respondent, the Deputy Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, passed an order-in-original on January 21, 2022, confirming the demand for service tax and penalty. The petitioner challenged this order before the High Court.

Held

The Court held that the writ petition should be disposed of by granting liberty to the petitioner to file a statutory appeal before the concerned Appellate Authority. This decision was based on the precedent set by the Division Bench of the Principal Seat of the Madras High Court in W.P.No.24996 of 2019, which was subsequently confirmed by the Supreme Court. The Court directed that the petitioner should file the appeal within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. Upon filing, the Appellate Authority was directed to consider the appeal expeditiously, in light of the aforementioned orders from the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court did not decide on the merits of the service tax demand or penalty, but rather provided a procedural avenue for the petitioner to seek redressal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be allowed to file a statutory appeal before the Appellate Authority, despite the time elapsed since the order-in-original was passed, considering the principles laid down by a Division Bench of the Principal Seat of this Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the issue was covered by a Division Bench order in W.P.No.24996 of 2019, which directed similar contractors to approach the appellate authority and allowed them to file statutory appeals within 30 days of receiving the order, subject to pre-deposit requirements, and further stipulated that such appeals should be entertained by the Appellate Authority without reference to limitation. Revenue's contention: The respondents, represented by the learned Standing Counsel, submitted that the Division Bench order relied upon by the petitioner had been confirmed by the Supreme Court in Special Leave to Appeal (C) Nos. 7181 to 7199 of 2023.