2017 (9) TMI 862

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....ed in the appeal relates to admissibility of CENVAT Credit of the Service Tax paid on Courier Service pertaining to the period prior to 01.4.2011 and thereafter. The Ld Advocate for the Respondent submitted that the Respondents are manufacturer of excisable goods and the Courier Service has been used by them in or in relation to sending/receiving of the 'samples', documents, and 'finished goods'. It is his contention that for the period prior to 01.4.2011 credit of service tax paid on Courier Services in dispatching finished goods has been held to be admissible by the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court in the case of Cadila Healthcare Ltd - 2013(30)STR.3 (Guj.). In holding that Cenvat Credit of the service tax paid on Courier Servic....

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....to business has been deleted in the amended Rule, however, the other activities viz., Advertisement, Sales Promotion, Market Research, Accounting, Audit, Financing, Recruitment, Coaching and Training, Computer Net-working, Credit Rating, Share Registry, Security, Business Exhibition, Legal Service etc., continued to remain in the domain of 'Input Services'. These services are definitely used outside the factory premises in furtherance of the activity of Sale/Marketing, Finance etc. and directly not connected with the manufacture of goods. Also, the courier service does not fall under the negative list of the services excluded from the scope of the amended definition of input service. Therefore, courier service cannot be said to be f....

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....sibility of Cenvat Credit on the Courier Services for the period prior to 01.4.2011. It is their contention that after amendment to the definition of Input Service prescribed at Rule 2(l) of CCR, 2004 with effect from 01.4.2011, that is, consequent to the deletion of the expression activities relating to business, such as the Courier Services would fall outside the scope of the definition of Input Services and hence not eligible to credit. The amended Rule with effect from01.04.2011 reads as follows : (l) "input service" means any service,- (i).......................................................................... (ii) used by the manufacturer, whether directly or indirectly, in or in relation to the manufacture of final product....

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..... Therefore, the contention of the Revenue that unless the activity has a direct nexus with the manufacturing of goods in the factory premises, post deletion of the expression activities relating to business, could not entitle the assessee to avail credit on the Service Tax paid on services, including Courier Services which are not directly connected with the manufacturing activity. It cannot be denied that Courier Service involves a host of uses relating to the activity of manufacture and sale of goods. For example, the documents relating to technical expert's opinion, sample testing report, sending of samples, machine catalogue etc., are received and dispatched by utilizing the services of Courier and it cannot be said that these are ....