TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2013 (9) TMI 1074
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....010 (18) S.T.R. 170 (Tri. - Chennai)]. 2. The respondents/assessees are manufacturers of cut and polished granite monuments and they availed the services of Goods Transport Agencies for the purpose of procuring their raw materials, capital goods and spares thereof and also for onward transportation of their finished goods. The respondents/assessee being a Private Limited Company fell under one of the seven categories of persons as stipulated under Rule 2(1)(d)(v) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 r/w Notification No. 35/2004-S.T., dated 3-12-2004 as persons liable for payment of Service Tax in respect of the Goods Transport Agency Service availed by M/s. SNI Industries and M/s. SNA Granites for the periods between 1-1-2005 to 30-9-2006....
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....sioner of Appeals, viz., the First Appellate Authority. Before the First Appellate Authority, the assessees contended that the impugned order is beyond the scope of the show cause notice and the sole ground mentioned in the show cause notice was that the benefit under Notification No. 32/2004-S.T. is not available to the user of the Goods Transport Agencies who is made liable to the Service Tax but only where the Goods Transport Agencies himself prays the Service Tax. It was further contended that the Adjudicating Authority had denied the benefit on a totally new ground stating that the assessees did not submit the declarations from the transporters to the effect that they did not avail Cenvat credit of the duty paid on the inputs or on the....
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....f seven categories of persons as stipulated under Rule 2(1)(d)(v) of Service Tax Rules, 1994 r/w Notification No. 35/2004-S.T., dated 3-12-2004, as persons liable to pay service tax on such Goods Transport Agency Services with effect from 1-1-2005 as per Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004. Further, it was mentioned that during the period from March 2006 to September, 2006, they have failed to pay the Service Tax correctly on the actual value of freight incurred by them and in fact they adopted lesser value after wrongfully availing abatement from the gross freight paid on their own without any legal basis and without any valid authority. Further, it was stated that they are not entitled to such abatement and they have to pay Service Tax only on the ....
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....isions of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004; or (ii) the goods transport agency has availed the benefit under the Notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 12/2003-Service Tax, dated 20th June, 2003 [G.S.R. 503(E), dated the 20th June, 2003]. 2. This Notification shall come into force on the first day of January, 2005." Therefore, it is evidently clear that the assessees have understood the purport of the show cause notice and also claimed that they are entitled to the benefit of the exemption under the Notification No. 32/2004-S.T., dated 3-12-2004. 11. In such circumstances, the Assessing Authority as well as the First Appellate Authority considered th....