https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=796226 Labour contracts are characterised by their substantive obligations, not by output-based payment terms. A contract appointing a labour contractor, requiring labour bills and worker PF and ESIC compliance, and lacking output-quality standards or production benchmarks constitutes taxable manpower recruitment or supply service rather than independent job work. The notes state that an unretracted statement supported this characterisation. Non-disclosure and non-payment of tax on known labour-supply activity justified the extended limitation period and penalty. Form 16A receipts could support demand computation where the service provider failed to produce complete records or show that receipts related to non-taxable activity. The service-tax liability, interest and penalty remained enforceable. en-us Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 03 Aug 2026 11:11:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=796226 Labour contracts are characterised by their substantive obligations, not by output-based payment terms. A contract appointing a labour contractor, requiring labour bills and worker PF and ESIC compliance, and lacking output-quality standards or production benchmarks constitutes taxable manpower recruitment or supply service rather than independent job work. The notes state that an unretracted statement supported this characterisation. Non-disclosure and non-payment of tax on known labour-supply activity justified the extended limitation period and penalty. Form 16A receipts could support demand computation where the service provider failed to produce complete records or show that receipts related to non-taxable activity. The service-tax liability, interest and penalty remained enforceable. Case-Laws Service Tax Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=796226