CESTAT Chennai Remands Cases for Fresh Decisions on Service Tax Credit Appeals

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, CHENNAI allowed the appeals, remanding the cases to the original authorities for fresh decisions based on the Bombay High Court's ruling. The Tribunal held that the appellants could avail credit of service tax paid on various services for paying duty on goods they manufactured, following the precedent set by the Hon'ble Bombay High Court. The decision was subject to the jurisdictional Madras High Court's ruling in related cases, and parties could seek further orders based on that outcome.

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Issues involved:
Whether the appellants are eligible to take credit of service tax paid on different services for paying duty in respect of various goods manufactured by them.

The judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, CHENNAI dealt with the issue of whether the appellants could avail credit of service tax paid on various services for the purpose of paying duty on goods they manufactured. The Tribunal referred to a previous decision involving CST, Chennai Vs. M/s. Murugappa Management Services Ltd. & Others, where it was noted that the Hon'ble Bombay High Court's order in the case of Ultratech Cement extended the credit of tax paid on all services used in relation to the business of manufacturing final products. Despite the absence of contrary decisions from the jurisdictional High Court or the Supreme Court, the Tribunal decided to follow the Bombay High Court's order. Consequently, the Tribunal allowed the appeals by remanding the cases to the original authorities for fresh decisions based on the Bombay High Court's ruling. The judgment emphasized that the order was subject to the decision of the jurisdictional Madras High Court in related cases. In line with the previous decision, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order in the present case and remanded the matter to the original authority for a fresh decision, following the same terms as the previous case. The judgment concluded by stating that parties involved could seek further orders from the Tribunal based on the outcome of the Madras High Court's decision.

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