Tour operator service tax turns on tourist vehicle specifications, not just a contract carriage permit.

Service tax as a tour operator depended on whether the buses answered the statutory definition of a tourist vehicle, not merely on possession of a contract carriage permit. The Finance Act entry was read with the Motor Vehicles Act and the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, so the levy applied only if the vehicle satisfied the prescribed tourist vehicle specifications. On the stated facts, there was no finding that the buses met those requirements, and the demand could not be sustained.

---

---

Issues: Whether buses operated under a contract carriage permit, without satisfying the specifications of a tourist vehicle, were liable to service tax as a tour operator.

Analysis: Liability under the service-tax entry depended not merely on possession of a contract carriage permit but on the vehicle answering the statutory description of a tourist vehicle. The relevant definition in the Finance Act was linked to the Motor Vehicles Act and the prescribed specifications under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. Unless the vehicle met the requirements of a tourist vehicle under the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules, the mere existence of a contract carriage permit did not attract the levy. On the facts, there was no finding that the buses satisfied those specifications.

Conclusion: The appeal was without substance and the demand could not be sustained.

---