Business Auxiliary Service classification upheld for rerubberisation of rollers; service tax demand, interest and penalties failed.

Rerubberisation of worn-out rollers supplied by customers to restore them to usable condition was treated as Business Auxiliary Service, not Management, Maintenance or Repair Service. The Tribunal relied on its earlier decision in the assessee's own case on identical facts and followed that binding approach, holding that the activity could not be reclassified as repair or maintenance. As a result, the service tax demand, together with interest and penalties, was not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether rerubberisation of old rollers was classifiable as Business Auxiliary Service or as Management, Maintenance or Repair Service, and whether the service tax demand, interest and penalties could be sustained.

Analysis: The activity involved rerubberisation of worn-out rollers supplied by customers for restoring them to usable condition. The Tribunal noted that the issue was identical to one already decided in the assessee's own case, where the same activity had been held to fall under Business Auxiliary Service. In view of that binding approach on identical facts, the activity could not be treated as Management, Maintenance or Repair Service, and the consequential demand did not survive.

Conclusion: The activity was held to be classifiable under Business Auxiliary Service and not under Management, Maintenance or Repair Service; the demand, interest and penalties were not sustainable.

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