Section 73 recovery barred for goods transport operators service recipients despite retrospective amendments; consequential refund followed.

Retrospective amendments to the Finance Act, 1994 did not permit recovery of service tax under section 73 from recipients of goods transport operators service for the period in question. The Tribunal note states that the Supreme Court had already held that, although tax liability existed for the service period, recipients covered by section 71A were not brought within section 73's recovery machinery, so recovery from them was impermissible. A later Revenue-reliance decision was said not to address that specific section 73 issue and therefore did not displace the binding Supreme Court view. Consequential refund relief followed once the tax recovery failed.

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Issues: Whether service tax for the relevant period could be recovered from the recipient of goods transport operators service under section 73 of the Finance Act, 1994, and whether the assessee was entitled to consequential refund relief.

Analysis: The decisive question was whether the retrospective amendments to the Finance Act, 1994, including the changes brought by the Finance Acts of 2000 and 2003, enabled recovery under section 73 from recipients of goods transport operators service for the period in question. The earlier Tribunal view had been affirmed by the Supreme Court, which held that though service tax liability existed in respect of the service period, the class of persons covered by section 71A was not brought within section 73, and therefore recovery under section 73 from the recipient was impermissible. The later decision relied on by Revenue did not examine the specific section 73 recovery issue and therefore did not displace the binding effect of the later Supreme Court ruling. Once the assessee succeeded on the tax liability issue, refund followed as a consequential relief.

Conclusion: Recovery of service tax under section 73 from the assessee was not sustainable, and the assessee succeeded. The order granting consequential refund was also sustained, and the revenue challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The assessee was held not liable to the disputed recovery under section 73, and the refund relief flowed as a legal consequence.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute does not bring the relevant class of persons within the recovery machinery of section 73, service tax cannot be recovered from them under that provision despite retrospective amendments.

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