https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=308950 Service tax was demanded on advances received for construction and commissioning of railway sliding, signalling and telecom systems for coal-handling facilities at thermal power projects, denying exemption under Not. No. 25/2012-ST. The Tribunal held that "railways" in the exemption must be strictly construed as written; since neither the Finance Act, 1994 nor the notification defines "railway," the tax authorities could not artificially distinguish "private purpose" railways from "public service" railways, nor import definitions from other statutes to restrict the exemption. Prior to 1 July 2012 the activity stood excluded from taxable service, and thereafter was specifically exempt (excluding only monorail/metro). The demand was unsustainable; the impugned order was set aside and the appeal allowed. en-us Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 09 Jan 2026 12:31:37 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=308950 Service tax was demanded on advances received for construction and commissioning of railway sliding, signalling and telecom systems for coal-handling facilities at thermal power projects, denying exemption under Not. No. 25/2012-ST. The Tribunal held that "railways" in the exemption must be strictly construed as written; since neither the Finance Act, 1994 nor the notification defines "railway," the tax authorities could not artificially distinguish "private purpose" railways from "public service" railways, nor import definitions from other statutes to restrict the exemption. Prior to 1 July 2012 the activity stood excluded from taxable service, and thereafter was specifically exempt (excluding only monorail/metro). The demand was unsustainable; the impugned order was set aside and the appeal allowed. Case-Laws Service Tax Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=308950