2017 (12) TMI 817

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....penalty on the authorized signatory. 2. Since the issue involved in these appeals is identical, therefore, all the three appeals are being disposed of by this order. 3. Briefly the facts of the case are that the appellant-company is engaged in the manufacture of transformers classifiable under Chapter 8504 of First Schedule to the CETA, 1985 and they are availing CENVAT credit on input and input services, appellants have four factories situated at four different places and each one factory is duly registered under the Central Excise provisions. The appellant has also marketing offices at various places in India. The Department conducted the investigation of CENVAT credit availed by the appellant and on detection of irregular availment of ....

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....sioner (A), who upheld the Order-in-Original but reduced the penalty to Rs. 50,000/- on Shri T. Sornam, authorised signatory of the appellant. Hence, the present appeals. 4. Heard both the parties and perused the records. 5. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the impugned order is not sustainable in law as the same has been passed without properly considering the definition of input service in rule 2(l) of CENVAT Credit Rules (CCR). He further submitted that all the services on which CENVAT credit has been denied have been held to be input service by various judicial decisions of the Tribunal and the High Court. The learned counsel for the appellant has given in the tabular form, the input services on which CENVAT credit has....

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....bmitted that in respect of services paid on employee related expenses such as employee training, group insurance scheme, rent-a-cab service for employee tour/trip, hotel/resort expenses and purchases of lunch coupons from Sodexho pass fall in the definition of input service as the same has been spent on the employees. It forms part of the employee cost i.e., direct and indirect labour and the appellant has factored or included the expenditure towards employees welfare in the cost of production of the final product i.e., in CAS-4. He further submitted that this aspect has not been disputed by the lower authorities and therefore, these services would fall within the ambit of input services as defined under Rule 2(l) of CCR. He further relied ....