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NEW
DELHI: Prasar Bharati has appealed with the Service Tax Department
Tribunal (CESTAT) for recovery of Rs 1.6028 billion deposited
because of a ‘gross calculation error’.
Prasar Bharati sources told indiantelevision.com that the
pubcaster had claimed that the demand raised was erroneous,
but the Service Tax office had issued a final demand notice
on 5 May last year which included a demand of Rs 871 million
issued to it in May 2009, with interest and penalty under
Section 78. This led to the pubcaster depositing the sum of
Rs 1.6028 billion.
A demand notice had been received in May 2009 from the Service
Tax Department in respect of service tax liabilities relating
to the years 2003-2007-08. This ha stated an unpaid amount
of Rs 871 million.
The
Member (Finance) A K Jain had in 2011 pointed out this gross
error in a letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister
Ambika Soni.
The sources said due to systemic deficiencies within the organisation
prior to 2007-08, regular returns in respect of Service Tax
collected were not being filed. As a result, the Service Tax
Department raised the demand based on income and expenditure
figures in the published accounts without taking into account
the benefit of Cenvat Credit admissible to the pubcaster,
which was not claimed due to these deficiencies.
Non-receipt
of data from field offices and deficiencies in collection
of accurate data have been identified as the main reasons
for the flaw. The problem was compounded by lack of trained
accounts staff and the pubcaster has now appointed a chartered
accountants firm.
Returns are now being filed regularly, and the pubcaster has
paid a sum of over Rs 4 billion (Rs 4,653,297,477) including
about Rs 500 million (Rs 499,011,611) in CENVAT and the rest
in cash for the years 2008 to 2012.
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