CESTAT dismissed the appeal and upheld the demand for service...

CESTAT dismissed the appeal and upheld the demand for service tax with interest and penalty. The Tribunal held the services rendered by the appellant constituted input/leased-circuit related services within the scope of clause (60) of s.65 of the FA and that installation/commissioning charges collected for antenna/equipment were taxable transaction-based services, even if performed through subcontractors, since vendor work constituted input services for the appellant. The appellant's plea that services were not exclusively for the recipient and reliance on prior IUC decisions were rejected. The doctrine of merger and limitation contentions were found without merit, and the impugned assessment order was sustained.

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