Service Tax – Dispute Resolution Scheme covers revision orders passed by Commissioners – CBEC clarifies
The CBEC, in a clarification issued to the Coimbatore Chief Commissioner (with copies to the DGST and all other Commissioners) has clarified that,
(i) Revisional orders issued under section 84, qualify as orders issued under the provisions of Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994, the Scheme applies to such orders, subject to satisfaction of other conditions . Further, the affect of a revisional order passed by the Commissioner is that it only revises the order passed earlier by lower authority; therefore, if the revisional order has been issued on or before 1.3.2008, the compounding amount would be determined on the basis of the revisional order passed under section 84.
(ii) As regards a notice issued under section 84, giving the assessee an opportunity to be heard and present his case, such a notice does not alter the position of tax arrears, hence such notice does not have any relevance in so far as application of the Scheme is concerned. Therefore, such notice has not to be taken into account for computation of compounding amount under the Scheme. However, in respect of cases where assessee opts for the Scheme, any pending proceeding under section 84 would stand finalized.
Hardly ten days are left before the Scheme closes and still the field officers have several doubts, to mention just one, “does the scheme cover non filers?”
CBEC F.No. 137/96/2008- CX.4 Dated: September 02, 2008