Appellate Tribunal grants credit for Service Tax on courier services, setting aside impugned order

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, Ahmedabad, allowed the appeals, granting the appellant credit for Service Tax paid on courier services for sending goods and samples. The Tribunal relied on precedents establishing the admissibility of such credit, setting aside the impugned order and providing consequential relief to the appellant. The judgment was delivered by Mr. B.S.V. Murthy, J., with representation by Shri S. Suriyanarayanan, Adv., for the Assessee and Shri J.S. Negi, A.R., for the Revenue.

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Issues involved:
Whether the appellant is eligible for credit of Service Tax paid on courier service in respect of goods issued to customers and for sending samples.

Analysis:
The judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, Ahmedabad, addressed the issue of whether the appellant is entitled to credit of Service Tax paid on courier services for sending goods and samples. The Tribunal noted that the issue had been previously considered in various decisions, and with the consent of both parties, the pre-deposit was waived, allowing the appeals to proceed for final disposal. The Tribunal referred to several decisions where it was held that credit of Service Tax paid on courier services for sending goods and samples is admissible. These decisions included Vapi Vs Apar Industries Ltd., Cadila Healthcare Ltd Vs CCE Ahmedabad, CCE Hyderabad Vs Deloitte Tax Services India Pvt. Ltd., CCE Guntur Vs CCL Products (India) Ltd, Givaudan Flavours (India) Pvt. Ltd. Vs CCE Daman, Metro Shoes Pvt. Ltd. Vs CCE Mumbai, and Continental Foundation Jt. Venture Vs CCE Chandigarh.

The Tribunal, based on the precedents cited, concluded that the appellant is indeed eligible for credit of Service Tax paid on courier services. Consequently, the impugned order was set aside, and the appeals were allowed with consequential relief granted to the appellant. The judgment was dictated and pronounced in court by Mr. B.S.V. Murthy, J. The representation for the Assessee was made by Shri S. Suriyanarayanan, Adv., while Shri J.S. Negi, A.R., represented the Revenue.

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