I.P. Mukerji, J. - (1.) An affidavit of service is on record. Leave is granted to the advocate -on -record for the writ petitioner to file a supplementary affidavit of service in the department by tomorrow. None appears for the respondents. The writ petitioner before this Court is Central Bank of India. They were charged with short payment of service tax for a sum of Rs. 4,43,827/ -. Their defence inter alia was that there was no such short payment and that the demand was barred by the laws of limitation. The department had invoked the longer period of limitation provided in the statute. According to the Bank, there was no ground made out to invoke this longer period.
(2.) An adjudication order was passed on 31st May, 2010. In my opinion, the order is not at all clear as to how the longer period of limitation could be invoked. The order, in my opinion, does not also properly consider the case of the bank. However, by this order the charges made in the show cause notice were confirmed.
(3.) The writ petitioner preferred a delayed appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals). It was dismissed on the ground of limitation alone. Thereafter the bank approached the Tribunal. The Tribunal felt that the Commissioner (Appeals) had correctly exercised its jurisdiction, that it had no power to condone a delay of a little over one year.;