Service tax on laying hume pipes required factual examination of whether the work was taxable or merely a social activity.

Service tax liability on laying hume pipes turned on whether the activity was taxable at all, not on abatement. The lower authorities had proceeded on the wrong footing by treating the dispute as an abatement issue, without examining the assessee's plea that the work was undertaken as a social activity and not for commercial purposes. As the adjudicating authority had not considered evidence on that factual aspect, the impugned order was set aside and the matter remanded for fresh adjudication on the factual issues.

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Issues: Whether the matter should be remanded for fresh adjudication on the service tax liability relating to laying down hume pipes.

Analysis: The lower authorities proceeded on an incorrect footing by treating the dispute as one concerning abatement, whereas the real controversy was whether the activity of laying hume pipes attracted service tax at all. The factual basis for the assessee's plea that the work was undertaken as a social activity and not for commercial purposes had not been examined by the adjudicating authority, and no evidence had been considered on that aspect.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the original adjudicating authority for fresh examination of the factual issues.

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