2014 (4) TMI 290 - AT - Service Tax

Appeal Allowed, Stay Application Disposed: Importance of Proper Documentation for Tax Credits

The appeal was allowed, and the stay application was disposed of. The appellant's cenvat credit based on debit notes was deemed admissible as the ... CENVAT Credit - Debit notes - input services - Duty payment documents - Held that:- debit notes issued by the service provider contained the details of service tax payable, description of the taxable service (sales commission), value of the taxable service, registration no. of the service provider, name and address of the service provider. These are the details which are required as per Rule 9(2) of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004. The observations of the Assistant Commissioner are contrary to the facts noticed by me on the basis of documents submitted before me. Since it is not clear as to whether the same documents which were produced before me were produced before the Assistant Commissioner or not, the matter has to go back to the Assistant Commissioner who shall go through the documents, verify whether service has been received and whether all the particulars as required under the Rules are available in the debit notes and adjudicate the matter afresh. If documents contain details required under Rule 9 of CENVAT Credit Rules, benefit of Service Tax Credit may be extended. Needless to say the appellants shall be given an opportunity to present their case and also the Assistant Commissioner shall be free to get any verification if necessary done - Decided in favour of assessee. Issues:Admissibility of service tax credit based on debit notes.Analysis:The appellant filed a stay application and appeal against Order-in-Appeal No.VAD-EXCUS-001-APP-342-2013-14 dated 2.9.2013, where the Order-in-Original dated 30.7.2012 was upheld. The main issue in this appeal was the admissibility of service tax credit based on debit notes issued by the provider of taxable services. The appellant argued that all necessary details required by the Service Tax Rules and Cenvat Credit Rules were present on the debit notes, making the cenvat credit admissible. They cited various case laws supporting their argument. On the other hand, the Revenue defended the orders passed by the lower authorities.Upon hearing both sides and examining the case records, it was established that if debit notes used for claiming cenvat credit contain all relevant details such as service description, service tax registration number, and amount paid, they are considered proper documents for availing cenvat credit. The Bench referred to a previous case and noted that the debit notes produced by the appellant contained all necessary particulars as required by the rules. The observations made by the Assistant Commissioner and Commissioner (Appeals) were found to be contrary to the facts presented before the Bench. Therefore, the cenvat credit based on debit notes was rightfully availed by the appellant. As a result, the appeal was allowed, and the stay application was disposed of.This judgment clarifies the importance of ensuring that debit notes used for claiming cenvat credit contain all the essential details as per the rules. It highlights the significance of proper documentation in availing tax credits and emphasizes the need for consistency in evaluating such documents across different levels of authority.