TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (6) TMI 739
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.... of their client M/s. Alfa Laval (India) Ltd. The appellant is registered as Co-operative Society and are purchasing all the materials like food articles, grocery etc. required for making food and served the same to the employees of M/s. Alfa Laval (India) Ltd. Revenue authorities were of the view that the services rendered by the appellant would fall under the category of "Outdoor Catering Service" for the period 10.09.2004 to 31.07.2009. Appellant contested the show-cause notice issued to them on merits as well as on limitation. The main ground of the appellant before the adjudicating authority was that they are a Co-operative Society of the employees and they are only preparing the food while all the items required for preparation of foo....
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....s and charges paid to its employees. It is his submission that the appellant is only preparing food and may not be covered under the definition of outdoor catering service. He would then take us through the definition of outdoor catering service and submit that they do no supply the food to the employees of the client. He would place reliance on the judgement of the Tribunal in the case of Rajeev Kumar Gupta v. CCE - 2009 (16) STR 26 (Tri. Del.) for the proposition that in that case a similar set of facts were there and all the utilities and facilities were provided by the appellant therein and the appellant therein only engaged himself in preparation and serving food at the Company premises. He would submit that the appellant had already d....
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....ion of food and serving the same to the employees of Alfa Laval(India) Ltd. On this factual background we have to consider whether the activity as rendered by the appellant would fall under the definition of outdoor catering service as provided under Section 65(24), 65(105) (76a) and 65(105) (zzt) of the Finance Act, 1994. The said definition states that Section 65(24) defines the term caterer as under: "Caterer" means any person who supplies, either directly or indirectly, any food, edible preparations, alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages or crockery and similar articles or accoutrements for any purpose or occasion; Section 65(105) (76a) defines the term outdoor caterer as under: "outdoor caterer" means a caterer engaged in prov....
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....rated their expertise in the said activity with their own trained personnel and having offered to undertake the activities relating to the catering service on contract basis, contract was awarded to appellant. On such clear-cut preamble to the contract entered by the appellant with Alfa Laval ((India)) Ltd., appellant cannot claim that they are not provider of the catering service. 6.4 Thirdly, the finding of the first appellate authority is relevant as recorded in para 10.2 and is reproduced as under:- "I find that in this case the appellants are Employees' Co-operative Consumers' Society of employees of Alfa Laval (India) Ltd., Mumbai-Pune Road, Pune. The appellants have entered into an agreement dated 22.10.2008, with M/s Alfa ....
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....ompany, I find that the services given by the appellants to the aforesaid company are catering services and in this case the appellants are service providers and the company and its employees are the service receiver. Therefore, as per the provision of Section 65(105)(zzt) of the Finance Act, 1994, the above service becomes taxable and the appellants are required to pay service tax on the foresaid catering services provided by them to the company. I therefore reject the contention of the appellants that such services are by them to their own employees. It is also not correct that the appellants have provided only manpower to the company as such are not the terms of the contract. The appellants are under the contractual obligations to provid....