Tour operator service tax turns on whether transport is an organised tour or mere point-to-point passenger carriage.

Tour operator service tax was considered in relation to buses operated under an arrangement with a tourism corporation. The key distinction applied was between organising or arranging tours, and mere point-to-point passenger transport without a common tour contract or organised tour activity. On the stated analysis, the buses were treated as passenger transport rather than tour operation, and the appellant was not liable to pay service tax on tour operator services.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was liable to pay service tax on tour operator services in respect of buses operated under an agreement with the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation.

Analysis: The dispute concerned buses operated beyond the appellant's regular stage carriage services, and the arrangement with the tourism corporation involved transportation of passengers with only a nominal amount retained for the corporation. The definition of tour operator service was considered in the context of planning, scheduling or arranging tours, and the distinction between a tour operation and mere transportation of passengers was applied. The earlier decision involving the same appellant and the cited Tribunal decisions supported the view that where passengers are carried from point to point without a common tour contract or organised tour activity, the service is more akin to passenger transport than tour operation.

Conclusion: The appellant was not liable to pay service tax on tour operator services.

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