Railway service exemption under Notification No. 25/2012-ST cannot be narrowed by adding words not found in the entry.

Exemption for construction, erection, commissioning or installation services relating to railways under Notification No. 25/2012-ST could not be confined by reading in the words "government railways". The Tribunal held that the notification covered railway services generally, with only monorail and metro expressly excluded, and that neither the adjudicating authority nor the Tribunal could add restrictive words to narrow the entry. It further noted that exemption notifications must be construed as written, and strict construction applies only where genuine ambiguity exists. On that basis, the railway project qualified for exemption and denial of the benefit was held incorrect.

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Issues: Whether services of construction, erection, commissioning or installation of original works pertaining to railways were covered by the exemption under Notification No. 25/2012-ST, or whether the exemption was confined only to government railways.

Analysis: The exemption entry covered services pertaining to railways, with only monorail and metro expressly excluded. The Tribunal held that there was no ambiguity in the notification and that it was impermissible to read the words "government railways" into the entry. It further held that exemption notifications must be construed as issued by the Central Government under Section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, and that neither the adjudicating authority nor the Tribunal could add words to restrict the scope of the notification. The cited principle of strict construction of exemption notifications applied only where there is real ambiguity, which was absent here.

Conclusion: The railway project was eligible for exemption under Notification No. 25/2012-ST, and the denial of exemption was incorrect. The appeal succeeded with consequential relief to the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification clearly covers railways and excludes only specified categories, its scope cannot be curtailed by reading in additional words; exemption notifications must be interpreted as written, and strict construction operates only when there is genuine ambiguity.

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