service tax credit eligible on sludge removal-reg

[Ramakrishnan Seshadri]

we are manufacturer of automobile parts and during process some hazardous waste arise like ETP/STP sludge , paint sludge etc which is disposed off thru authorized vendor , which thery are charging amount with service tax.

Is this ST amount is eligible as input service credit or not as per definition of input services.

Please advise with some reference cases.

Thanks and Regards,

S.Ramakrishnan.

AI Summary

Input service nexus: service tax on necessary sludge removal may be creditable where removal is essential for production.
Service tax on removal of manufacturing-derived sludge can be Cenvat-creditable as an input service where there is a functional nexus and necessity-i.e., removal is essential to operate a production-related facility (such as a captive plant) without which manufacture cannot continue; if the activity is merely housekeeping or lacks relation to manufacture or clearance, credit is unlikely, and departmental resistance may prompt pragmatic avoidance of low-value claims.