Goods transport agency tax liability fails where truck owners issue no consignment note and reverse charge cannot apply.

Service tax under the goods transport agency regime was examined for transportation of marble blocks by individual truck owners where no consignment note was issued. The decisive point was that, without a consignment note, the transport arrangement did not satisfy the statutory requirements of GTA service, so reverse charge could not be used as the charging basis to impose liability on the recipients. On that footing, service tax was not payable on the impugned transportation activity and the demand could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether service tax was payable under reverse charge on transportation of marble blocks by individual truck owners when no consignment note was issued.

Analysis: The levy was sought to be sustained on the basis of reverse charge provisions and the status of the appellants as specified persons. The idng factor was whether the transport arrangement answered the statutory requirements of goods transport agency service. In the absence of any consignment note issued by the individual transporters, the legal basis for fastening service tax liability under the GTA regime was not made out, and reverse charge provisions could not be treated as the charging provision for levy.

Conclusion: Service tax was not payable on the impugned transportation activity, and the demand could not be sustained.

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