Service Tax – What is Penalty under Section 78 for?

By Vijay Kumar

SECTION 78 of the Finance Act, 1994 reads as

78. Penalty for suppressing value of taxable service.- Where any service tax has not been levied or paid or has been short-levied or short-paid or erroneously refunded, by reason of -

(a) fraud ; or

(b) collusion ; or

(c) wilful mis -statement; or

(d) suppression of facts; or

(e) contravention of any of the provisions of this Chapter or of the rules made thereunder with intent to evade payment of service tax, …………

Now, the heading of the Section says the penalty is for suppressing value of taxable service but the words in the section do not refer to value at all. Can penalty be imposed under Section 78 for anything other than suppression of value?