Tribunal reclassifies ore transport services under "transport of goods by road service"

The Tribunal allowed five appeals against Orders-in-Original regarding the levy of service tax on transporting ore within a mining area, holding that such services should be classified under "transport of goods by road service" rather than under "mining of mineral, oil or gas services." Citing a Supreme Court judgment and a recent decision by CESTAT, the Tribunal set aside the orders and granted consequential relief to the appellants.

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Issues involved:
The issue involved in this case is the levy of service tax on providing services for transportation of ore within the mining area post-01/06/2007 under the category of 'Mining of Minerals, Oil or Gas Services'.

Summary:
In this case, five appeals were filed against the Orders-in-Original passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax, Belgaum. The common issue in all appeals was the rendering of services to a company for transporting mined ore within a mining area, leading to the imposition of service tax. The appellants argued that the issue had been settled by a judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a similar case. The Tribunal found merit in the appellants' contention, citing the Supreme Court's judgment and a recent decision by the Principal Bench of CESTAT at Delhi. The Tribunal held that the transportation of ore within the mining area should be classified under "transport of goods by road service" rather than under "mining of mineral, oil or gas services." As a result, the impugned orders were set aside, and the appeals were allowed with consequential relief as per law.

Separate Judgment:
No separate judgment was delivered by the judges in this case.

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