2013 (12) TMI 1025

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.... preferred by the Revenue following the judgment in the case of Commissioner of C.Ex & S.T.,LTU, Bangalore vs. ABB Limited, reported in 2011 (23) STR 97 (Kar.), holding that service tax paid by the manufacturer for outward transportation of the goods upto the point of delivery to the customer is claimable as an input service under the Cenvat Rules. Challenging the aforesaid order, the Revenue has come up in appeal. Mr. Saraf, learned advocate appearing for the appellant, submitted that the judgment in the case of ABB Limited rendered by the Karnataka High Court is open to questions and, therefore, the Tribunal should not have followed the judgment. The Tribunal should have instead considered the submissions advanced on behalf of the R....

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.... phrase "clearance of final products from the place of removal" and therefore, the assessee was entitled to CENVAT credit." The aforesaid reasoning, we are sorry to say, has not appealed to us. 'Input service' as defined in Rule 2(l)(ii) does not include the expenses with regard to post-manufacturing stage except for the purpose of transportation of goods from one place of removal to another place of removal. It is, however, true that relaxation in that regard was made by the Circular issued by the Board on 23rd August, 2007. When the Board has made the relaxation, the assessee is entitled to take the benefit thereof. But, we are not prepared to accept that effect of the Circular would be to amend the Rules. Rules remain what they were. ....

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....ng of those two paragraphs. Paragraph 22 of the judgment relied upon by Mr. Majumder reads as follows : "22. Be that as it may, we are of the opinion that the outward transport service used by the manufacturers for transportation of finished goods from the place of removal upto the premises of the purchaser is covered within the definition of "input service" provided in Rule 2(l) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004." The Hon'ble Division Bench expressed their aforesaid opinion, but no reasons or appropriate reasons are ascertainable by us for the purpose of aforesaid proposition. We are, as such, of the considered view that the opinion expressed by the Hon'ble Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court cannot be accepted. No other submi....