CESTAT ruled that the Commissioner erred in confirming service...

CESTAT ruled that the Commissioner erred in confirming service tax demand on grounds not specified in the show cause notice after finding against the Department on the original issue. The Tribunal held that reimbursements received by the appellant from licensees for electricity, telephone, and maintenance charges do not constitute "consideration" for renting of immovable property services and are therefore not includable in the assessable value for service tax purposes. These amounts represented pure reimbursements rather than expenditures incurred by the appellant while providing services. Consequently, the service tax demand, along with associated interest and penalties, was set aside and the appeal was allowed.

---