Service tax leviability date falls under special appellate jurisdiction, making the High Court appeal not maintainable.

A dispute over the date from which service tax became leviable was treated as a question concerning the rate or point of taxability. On that footing, the special appellate route under Section 35L of the Central Excise Act, 1944, as applied to service tax matters, governed the challenge, and the general High Court appeal under Section 35G was not maintainable. The proper remedy lay in an appeal to the Supreme Court, and the revenue's appeal was rejected for want of maintainability under the statutory appellate scheme.

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Issues: Whether an appeal under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was maintainable where the dispute concerned the date from which service tax became leviable.

Analysis: The controversy related to the levy of service tax from a particular date and thus involved determination of the rate or point of taxability. Such questions fall within the ambit of Section 35L of the Central Excise Act, 1944, as made applicable to service tax matters, and not within Section 35G of the said Act.

Conclusion: The appeal under Section 35G was held not maintainable and the proper remedy lay in an appeal to the Apex Court.

Final Conclusion: The revenue's appeal was rejected on the ground of lack of maintainability under the statutory appellate scheme governing questions relating to levy of service tax.

Ratio Decidendi: A dispute as to the date from which service tax is leviable is a question falling under the special appellate jurisdiction for determination of rate or taxability, and therefore an appeal under the general High Court appellate provision is not maintainable.

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