2015 (12) TMI 162

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....der: The respondent was engaged in trading and providing services of transportation of coal from the collieries/mines of M/s South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. Therefore it was liable to pay service tax under Goods Transport Agency (GTA) service under reverse charge mechanism in terms of Rule 2(1)(d)(v) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994. The demand of service tax was raised on the ground that the respondent had made payments amounting to Rs. 62,00,33,935/- towards transport expenses to various parties during the period covered under the show cause notice but did not pay service tax thereon. The adjudicating authority observed that the service tax has been demanded on the freight expenses of appellants subsidiary firm M/s Coal Feeder Pvt. Ltd. w....

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....s it was actually liable to pay service tax as it paid freight.  (iii) The respondent in some cases was buyer of coal and thereafter it further sold the same to different buyers and engaged in transportation through M/s Coal Feeder which is one of its divisions. Thus the respondent transported the goods with the help of various transporters and paid the freight expenses and the bills raised by M/s Coal Feeders cannot be said to beissued in terms of Rule 4(b) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994.  (iv) The responsibility of discharging service tax on the transportation service cannot be passed on by the respondent to the buyers of coal.  (v) Service tax on GTA service has not been discharged by all the buy....

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....m SECL which was supplied to various customers because in that case the respondent would have charged the customers not only for the transportation but also for the value of the coal. In pit gate passes also M/s SECL has shown the name of the consignees to whom coal was consigned.  (f) Having regard to the fact that demand confirmed was paltry, it chose not to contest the same. 5. We have considered the contentions of both sides. At the outset, it is pertinent to note that the Commissioner's finding that 62 of 69 recipients of coal confirmed having paid the service tax on the same amount on which the demand has been raised in respect thereof has not been contested by Revenue. Only for a small portion of demand (Rs. 238511.7....