Tribunal Upholds Order Vacating Service Tax Demands for Goods Transport

The Tribunal upheld the impugned order, vacating the demands of service tax on 'goods transport service' received by the respondents during the specified period from 16.11.1997 to 1.6.1998. The appeals by the Revenue were rejected as the demands for service tax were raised after 12.5.2000, outside the limitation prescribed by law. The Tribunal found the demands unsustainable based on previous decisions and the legal amendments defining recipients of 'Goods Transport' service as "assessees" for a limited period. The order also noted rejected refund claims for specific respondents, which were not challenged.

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Issues:
Whether the respondents were liable to pay service tax on 'goods transport service' received by them during a specific period.

Analysis:
The appeals of the Revenue were against a common order of the Commissioner (Appeals). The key issue in these appeals was whether the respondents were liable to pay service tax on 'goods transport service' received by them during the period from 16.11.1997 to 1.6.1998, as demanded by the department in show-cause notices issued after 12.5.2000. It was noted that any demand of service tax on goods transport service raised in a show-cause notice issued after 12.5.2000 for the mentioned period was unsustainable based on previous decisions. The Final Order No. 930-931/2004 dated 20.10.2004 highlighted the legal basis for this conclusion.

The Tribunal considered the submissions and highlighted that rules for recovering service tax from recipients of services were deemed ultra vires by the Supreme Court. Parliament later amended the relevant sections to define recipients of 'Goods Transport' service as "assessees" for a limited period. The demands for service tax in the present case were raised after 12.5.2000, beyond the specified period, and were outside the limitation prescribed by law. The Tribunal also referred to a similar view taken in a cited case, further supporting the decision to vacate the demands of service tax on 'goods transport service' for the mentioned period.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the impugned order vacating the demands of service tax on 'goods transport service' received by the respondents during the specified period and rejected the appeals. Additionally, it was noted that certain refund claims for service tax already paid were rejected by the Commissioner (Appeals) for specific respondents, a decision that was not challenged by the assessees. The order was dictated and pronounced in open court, concluding the judgment.

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