2007 (4) TMI 18

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....se notices were, therefore, issued on 6-3-2006 21/24-4-2006 to deny the respondent Cenvat credit availed by it on out transportation. 4. It appears from the record that, it was alleged against the respondent that, the goods were sold by it at its factory gate and hence the place of removal the factory and, therefore, -the outward transportation from its factory was not an 'input service' as defined in Rule 2(1) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. 4.1 The respondent contested the matter by asserting that, on the correct interpretation of Rule 2(l)(ii) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, clearance of final products from the place of removal included transportation to their destination and such input service of outward transport was eligible for taking of the credit by the manufacturer. 5. The adjudicating authority on the basis of the material on record and interpretation of Rule 3(1) read with Rules 2(1) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, held that; 'input service', as defined, covers outward transportation only upto the place of removal from the factory. It was held that, the place of removal in case of manufacturer of excisable goods, was the factory from where such goods were remov....

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....Ltd. v. CCE, Ludhiana, (Excise Appeal No. 66/2007), 2007 (6) S.T.R. 249 (Tribunal) = 2007 (212) E.L.T. 410 (Tribunal) in which, considering an identical issue, the Tribunal, on interpretation of definition of 'input service', held as under: "14. The interpretation canvassed by the appellant is also contrary to the rule on the subject contained in the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the Reserve Bank case. A statute is to be read as a whole and words used interpreted taking into account the context in which they are used. Definitions are to be looked at as a whole. Clauses of a definition are not to be read disjunctively. In the present case, the statute deals with a tax on manufacture. The definition is in the context of relief in regard to duty/tax paid on input services. Post sale transport of manufactured goods is not an input in manufacture. The two clauses in the definition take care to circumscribe input credit by stating that service used in relation to the clearance from the place of removal and service used for outward transportation upto the place of removal are to be treated as input service. The first clause does not mention transport service in particular. The sec....

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.... the definition of 'sale price' of Section 2(d) of that Act used the words 'means' and 'includes'. The first part of the definition defined the meaning of the word 'sale price'. It was held that, the interpretation thereof was in no way controlled or affected by the second part, which would include certain other things in the definition. 7.1 The learned Counsel then tried to argue a case, totally different tried to be placed on record in the so-called synopsis, and contended that, the manufacturer had other units at Gurgaon and Chennai, and since a manufacturer was entitled to take credit of 'input service', even in respect of such outward transport, he could not be denied the credit for his units at Gurgaon and Chennai, which was in the nature of inward transportation. The practice of bringing about totally a new case on different factual parameters, by inserting it in a synopsis, is deprecated. Nowhere, till the appeal memo was filed, before the Commissioner (Appeals) was it ever the case of the respondent that, the manufacturer had other factories at Gurgaon and Chennai, and that he could have taken credit outward transport from the Malanpur unit in those factories. As noted ab....

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....y staling that service used in relation to the clearance from the place of removal and service used outward transportation upto the place of removal, are to be treated as 'input rice'. The first clause does not mention 'transport service' in particular. The second clause restricts 'transport service credit' upto the place of removal. When these two clauses are read together, it becomes clear that 'transport service credit' cannot go beyond transport service upto the place of removal. 8.1 The expression 'clearance of final product from the place of removal' has to be understood in the context of the preceding words, which refer to service used by the manufacturer in relation to the manufacture and clearance of final products, from the place of removal, which itself may require input service. Outward transport of final products would start after the clearance of the final product from the place of removal. The clearance of final product, is activity contemplated for the purpose of removing the final products from place of removal. Till the point they are removed, 'input service' for clearance can properly be called input for the purpose of clearance. The expression' ward transportat....