2015 (7) TMI 825

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....ity before the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court, who vide order dated 29.08.2012 allowed the writ petition and instructed this Authority to hear the applicant on merits. In the interim, Service Tax laws in India were replaced by a comprehensive Service Tax regime with effect from 01.07.2012. Due to these changes, the applicants filed corrigendum to the original applications on 12.11.2012. However, on the instructions of this Authority, fresh applications dated 01.03.2013 were filed, i.e. present applications. This Authority vide Order dated 16.01.2015 restored the applications, which were dismissed earlier for non-prosecution on 21.04.2014. 3. The applicant proposes to avail the benefit of Cenvat credit in respect of Service Tax that would be charged by its contractors for installation and commissioning related services on the input side for bringing into existence a pipeline and utilizing the same for discharging its output service tax liability. 4. According to the applicant, the activity of laying of pipeline begins with identification of route of the pipeline from the source to destination. The identification of the route involves a feasibility analysis to ensure that an accept....

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....civil works package for constructing the stations along the pipeline route 7. Though the EPC Contracts awarded by the applicant to the various EPC Contractors would involve both supply of goods like pipes and rendering of construction / erection, installation and commissioning services, and further the price agreed between the applicant and the EPC Contractor(s) will be a composite price, such composite price will be divided into two key components, ,viz. price for supply of goods and price for rendering of services. The EPC Contractors would charge separately for the supply of goods like pipes from the applicant and separately for provision of services. Thus the EPC Contract between the applicant and the EPC Contractors would be divisible contract, which can be divided into provision of service and supply of equipment/material i.e. pipes. Separate invoices would be raised by the EPC Contractors for the sale of pipes and provision of construction / erection, installation and commissioning services for laying of the pipeline Under the EPC Contracts, the applicant will procure the pipes from the EPC Contractors, under a "Bill to ship to" arrangement whereby, the pipes purchased by E....

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....rvices for the civil works package for building the pipeline substations) against the Applicant's output service tax liability under the taxable output service in the nature of transport of gas through pipelines." 10. First point urged by the Revenue is that the question raised by the applicant in present applications, are same as already decided by the Appellate Tribunal in the case of Gujarat State Petronet Ltd, Vs. CCE, Ahmedabad reported in 2013 (32) STR 510 (Tri. Ahmed). Therefore, as per provisions to Section 96 D (2) of the Finance Act, 1994, the Authority shall not allow the application where the question raised in the application is same as in a matter already decided by the Appellate Tribunal or any Court. In the present case, the Hon'ble High Court in Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. Vs. CCE. Ahmedabad reported in 2013 (32) STR 271 (Guj) inter-alia ordered that the Authority for Advance Rulings to decide the questions raised in the petitioners' applications, under Section 96 C, on merits, under Section 96 D of the Finance Act, 1994. Hon'ble High Court concluded that if AAR pronounces advance ruling on the question raised by the petitioners, eve....

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....e. Port service under Rule 2(k) ibid. Further, on the issue before us, provisions of Rule 2(k), which defines "input", are not applicable, but "input service" defined under Rule 2(l) ibid, used by the applicant for providing output service. Applicant inter-alia submits that without the pipes and valves or the pipeline system, it is not possible to render the service of transport of gas through pipeline; that said service can-not be provided without using the said input services, which are intrinsically required for the provision of taxable services; that the proposition is also clear, given that the description of taxable services per se i.e. "transport of goods through pipeline or other conduit service", as it was under Section 65 (105) (zzz) of the Finance Act, 1994, prior to 01.07,2012, which indicates that the services are to be rendered via use of pipeline. We agree with the contention of the applicant that pipeline is used for output service of transport of gas through pipeline. It is not possible to think of a situation regarding transport of gas without pipelines except with the help of Tankers, which would be highly uneconomical. It is observed that Revenue has relied upon....