CENVAT credit on outdoor catering service depends on canteen obligation and factual verification before credit can be allowed.

CENVAT credit on outdoor catering service is not available automatically and depends on statutory and factual conditions, including whether the service was linked to the employer's obligation to maintain canteen facilities and whether the assessee satisfied the conditions recognised by higher courts. Relevant verification included the number of workers employed, any recovery from employees toward food or canteen coupons, and whether proportionate credit attributable to employee-borne cost had already been reversed. Because these facts required examination, the issue was not decided on merits and was remanded to the original authority for de novo verification.

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Issues: Whether CENVAT credit on outdoor catering service was admissible, subject to verification of the statutory and factual conditions governing such credit.

Analysis: Credit on outdoor catering service is not available in the abstract; it depends on the service being rendered in the context of the employer's legal obligation to maintain canteen facilities and on satisfaction of the factual conditions recognised by the higher courts. The relevant considerations included whether the assessee had employed more than 250 workers, whether any part of the cost of food/canteen coupons had been recovered from the workers, and whether the proportionate credit relatable to any amount borne by the employees had already been reversed. As these factual aspects required verification, the matter was not finally decided on merits and had to be examined by the original authority in de novo proceedings.

Conclusion: The availability of CENVAT credit was left to be determined after factual verification by the original authority, and the matter was remanded for that purpose.

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