Tour operator tax applies only when tours are run in a legally qualified tourist vehicle, not merely a contract carriage.

Tour operator service was taxable only where the operator conducted tours in a vehicle that legally qualified as a tourist vehicle under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Rule 128 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. The fact that a vehicle operated as a contract carriage was not enough; it also had to satisfy the statutory attributes of a tourist vehicle. As there was no evidence that the vehicles used by the respondent met that definition, the activity did not fall within the charging entry and service tax was not payable on that basis.

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Issues: Whether the respondent's activity of operating tours in the vehicles used by it fell within the taxable category of tour operator's service and attracted service tax.

Analysis: The taxable entry covered only a person operating a tour in a tourist vehicle. A tour meant a journey from one place to another, and a tourist vehicle had to answer the statutory definition linked to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the specifications prescribed under Rule 128 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. The essential requirement was not merely that the vehicle functioned as a contract carriage, but that it also satisfied the legal attributes of a tourist vehicle. In the absence of evidence that the vehicles used by the respondent conformed to that definition, the activity could not be brought within the charging entry.

Conclusion: The respondent's activity was not covered by tour operator's service and no service tax was payable on that basis.

Ratio Decidendi: Service tax under the tour operator category is attracted only when the operator conducts tours in a vehicle that legally qualifies as a tourist vehicle under the governing motor vehicle law and rules.

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