Goods transport by own vehicles falls in the negative list when no consignment notes or corroborative evidence show GTA status.

Transportation of goods by road was held to fall within the negative list where the supplier used his own vehicles and did not act as a Goods Transport Agency issuing consignment notes. The Service Tax demand was unsustainable because it rested only on Form 26AS and income tax return data, without corroborative evidence proving the taxable nature of the service. In the absence of proof that the appellant functioned as a GTA, the tax demand could not be upheld, and the connected penalties and late fee also failed.

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Issues: Whether the transportation of goods undertaken by the appellant using his own vehicles was exempt under the negative list and whether the Service Tax demand, penalties and late fee could be sustained on the basis of Form 26AS and income tax return data without corroborative evidence.

Analysis: The demand was founded on third-party information from Income Tax Returns and Form 26AS, without independent verification of the actual taxable nature of the service or supporting evidence establishing liability. The appellant's material indicated that he was an individual transporting goods with his own vehicles, and no evidence was produced to show that he functioned as a Goods Transport Agency issuing consignment notes. Transportation of goods by road is taxable only where it is rendered by a Goods Transport Agency, whereas transport by road otherwise falls within the negative list under Section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994. The absence of consignment notes and the lack of corroborative evidence meant that the demand could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The transportation service was exempt under the negative list, the Service Tax demand was unsustainable, and the penalties and late fee also failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A Service Tax demand for transport activity cannot be upheld merely on the basis of Form 26AS or income tax return data unless the Revenue establishes, with corroborative evidence, that the service was taxable and that the supplier acted as a Goods Transport Agency.

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