Abatement under service tax notification cannot be denied for want of consignment-specific declarations where non-availment of CENVAT credit is stated.

Under Notification No. 32/2004-ST, abatement for goods transport agency services on reverse charge basis could not be denied merely because the service provider's declaration was general rather than consignment-specific, where the declaration stated that CENVAT credit on inputs or capital goods had not been availed and that factual assertion was undisputed. The Tribunal treated the notification condition as substantially satisfied, noted that earlier Tribunal rulings supported the same view, and found no contrary distinguishing feature. On that basis, the denial of abatement was unsustainable and the demand founded on that denial could not be maintained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to the 75% abatement under Notification No. 32/2004-ST in respect of goods transport agency services availed on reverse charge basis, despite the department's objection that the declarations from the service providers were general in nature.

Analysis: The appellant had produced declarations from the service providers stating that they had not availed CENVAT credit on inputs or capital goods. These declarations were not disputed on facts, but were rejected by the adjudicating authority as being general and not specific to consignments. The Tribunal held that the condition for abatement was substantially satisfied and that individual consignment-wise declarations were not necessary where the transport agency had given a general declaration covering its transactions. The issue was also treated as settled by earlier Tribunal decisions and no contrary distinguishing feature was shown.

Conclusion: The appellant was entitled to the abatement under Notification No. 32/2004-ST, and the denial of the benefit was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The demand based on denial of abatement could not be sustained, and the impugned order was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a transport agency's declaration states that CENVAT credit has not been availed, the benefit of the abatement notification cannot be denied merely because the declaration is not consignment-specific, unless the notification itself expressly requires such a condition.

---