ORDER
P.G. Chacko, Member (J)
FINAL ORDER No 1010 to 1013/05
1. These appeals are by a firm of Chartered Accountants, who challenged levy of service tax on the services rendered by them to their clients, in a writ petition filed in the Hon’ble High Court. The appellants obtained from the Hon’ble High Court stay of operation of the relevant provision of the Finance Act, 1994. This stay subsisted till 20.12.2000, the day on which the writ petition was dismissed by the High Court.
2. In these appeals, the challenge is against demand of interest on service tax for the above period of stay. After hearing both sides, I am convinced that, during the above period of stay, there was no effective provision of law authorizing levy of service tax, let alone levy of interest thereon. The demand of interest for the said period is unauthorised.
3. In the result, the impugned orders get set aside and these appeals are allowed, with consequential relief.
