Service tax benefits follow the date of service rendering, so later notification changes cannot defeat earlier abatement and credit.

Service tax liability depended on when the taxable service was rendered, not when payment was later received. Because the services were provided before 01.03.2006, the assessee had already satisfied the taxable event during the currency of Notification No. 18/2005-ST and retained the corresponding abatement and Cenvat credit. The later rescission and substitution of the notification could not retrospectively remove benefits already earned for services performed in that earlier period. For continuous services, tax treatment follows the period of actual performance. On that basis, the demand was not sustainable and consequential relief followed.

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Issues: Whether the appellants were entitled to availing abatement and Cenvat credit for services rendered before rescission of the earlier exemption notification, where payment was received later under the substituted notification regime.

Analysis: The determining factor was the time of rendering of the taxable service, not the later receipt of payment. Since the services in question were rendered before 01.03.2006, the appellants had already satisfied the taxable event during the currency of Notification No. 18/2005-ST and were eligible for the corresponding abatement and Cenvat credit. The subsequent rescission and replacement of the notification could not retrospectively defeat the benefit for services already rendered. The Tribunal also relied on the principle that for continuous services, tax treatment must follow the period in which the service is actually rendered.

Conclusion: The appellants were entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 18/2005-ST for the period prior to 01.03.2006, and the demand was not sustainable.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, and the appellants were granted consequential relief on the basis that the relevant taxable event had occurred before the change in notification.

Ratio Decidendi: For service tax liability and related benefit eligibility, the taxable event is the rendering of service; where that event occurs before rescission or substitution of a notification, the assessee retains the benefit available during that period.

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