ORDER
P.K. Das, Member (J)
1. The issue involved in this case is the imposition of penalty for late payment of tax on the services of goods transport agency. The ld. Advocate submits that they paid the tax on 28.7.2005 for the period January, 2005 to June, 2005. He submits that they paid the tax with interest before the issue of show cause notice. He relied upon the case of the Tribunal in the case of Gopsons Papers Ltd. v. Commissioner of Central Excise, Noida 2007 (7) S.T.R. 145 (Tribunal-Delhi). It is seen that the Tribunal following the Circular of the Board vide F.No. 341/18/2004-TRU dated 17.12.2004 set aside the penalty on the similar situation. For proper appreciation, the relevant portion of the Circular is reproduced below:
5.6 In case of omission in payment of service tax or procedural lapses by persons liable to pay service tax on the goods transport by road, committed before 31.12.2005, the consequences should be limited to recovery of tax with interest payable thereon. No penalty should be imposed on such defaulters unless the default is on account of deliberate fraud, collusion, suppression of facts or willful mis-statement or contraventions of the provisions of service tax with intent to evade payment of service tax.
After hearing both the sides and on perusal of the records, I find that the appellants paid their tax before 31.12.2005 and are well covered within the Board’s Circular. There is no allegation of deliberate fraud, collusion, suppression of facts and willful misstatement on the part of the appellants.
2. Therefore, following the decision of the Tribunal and the Board’s Circular, the penalty imposed on the appellants is set aside. The appeal is allowed with consequential relief.
Order dictated and pronounced in open court on 24.8.07.