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TaxTMI 
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2018 (8) TMI 330
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....f Rs. 18,33,371/- under various categories along with interest and penalties both under Section 76 and 78 of the Finance Act, 1994. In appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the demand, but however set aside the penalty imposed under Section 76 of the Act. Aggrieved, the appellants are now before the Tribunal. 2. On behalf of the appellant, Ld. Counsel Shri. Harish Bindumadhavan made the following submissions : I. Demand made under Port Services (Demand of Rs. 14,38,395/-): (i) The appellant is engaged in provision of Custom House Agency Services (CHA) and has registered under this category for the purpose of service tax. While providing the service of CHA, appellant also arranges services for packing, unpacking, loading, unloading, bringing or removing the goods to or from the customs area or vessels to their customers. (ii) The SCN was issued and alleged that the classification of the above service under the category of CHA services is incorrect and demanded the service tax by vivisecting the service of CHA into different category of service such as Port Services, stevedoring services, weighment services, etc. (iii) The trade notices issued by the Commissionerate of M....
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....9) S.T.R. 529 (S.C.) b. Shreeji Shipping Vs. C.C.E. & S.T., Rajkot - 2014 (36) S.T.R. 569 (Tri. -Ahmd.)\ c. Western Agencies Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Chennai - 2011 (22) S.T.R. 305 (Tri. - LB) d. Commissioner of Central Excise, Mangalore Vs. Konkan Marine Agencies - 2009 (13) S.T.R. 7 (Kar.) (viii) In the light of the above submission it is amply clear that, the service rendered by the appellant is of the nature of custom house agency services and hence, the contention of the respondent to classify such service under Port Services is not just and proper. II. Demand for Cargo Handling Service (Activity related to Raw Sugar - Demand of Rs. 1,85,590/-): (i) The appellant was rendering cargo handling services on raw sugar cargos including shifting of cargo from one godown to another inside the port and also outside the port. In this regard, the appellant has availed the exemption benefit extended to cargo handling services for agricultural produce vide Notification No. 13/2003 dt. 20.06.2003 as amended vide Notification No. 08/2004 dt. 09.07.2004. (ii) The respondent has concluded that the raw sugar does not amount to agricultural produce as....
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....upported the findings in the impugned order. 3.2 With regard to the Port Services, he referred to the definition contained in Section 65(82)(zn) of the Finance Act, 1994 wherein it is stated that Port Services means any service rendered by a port or other port or any person authorized by such port or other port, in any manner, in relation to a vessel or goods. The taxable service under Section 65 (105) states that any service provided or to be provided to any person by a port or any person authorized by the port in relation to Port Services in any manner would be subject to levy of service tax. In the present case, the appellants are licensed by the Madras Port Trust to undertake Stevedoring Activities within the port area during the disputed period. These activities are required to be performed only by a person authorized by the port trust within the port area. Thus, the appellants are authorized under the above licence for activities such as handling services, storage of goods, weighment charges, water sprinkling charges, supervision charges, etc., rendered by them under the Stevedoring Licences. These being rendered within the port area, attracts the levy of service tax under t....
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....ted out that the issue whether the services would fall under Port Services has been decided in their favour in their own case by the Tribunal in Bangalore as reported in 2017 (4) G.S.T.L. 48 (Tri. - Bang.) and 2011 (21) S.T.R. 257 (Tri. - Bang.). The appellants have contended that these services fall under the category of Customs House Agent (CHA) and does not fall under Port Services. The Tribunal has analyzed the very same issue in their case as decided and reported in 2011 (21) S.T.R. 257 (Tri. - Bang.), the relevant portion of which is reproduced as under : "11. The issue involved in all these cases mainly centres around the classification of the services rendered by the appellants herein. The appellants herein are claiming the classification of their services under the category of 'Custom House Agents' and other services while Revenue seeks to classify these services under 'Port services'. 17. It can be seen from the above reproduced ratio of the judgment of the Tribunal in the case of Velji P. & Sons (Agencies) P. Ltd. that the facts, of that case and the facts in these cases before us are identical wherein various services were rendered by the appellants herein within th....
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....ce" means any produce resulting from cultivation or plantation, on which either no further processing is done or such processing is done by the cultivator like tending, pruning, cutting, harvesting, drying which does not alter its essential characteristics but makes it only marketable and includes all cereals, pulses, fruits, nuts and vegetables, spices, copra, sugar cane, jaggery, raw vegetable fibres such as cotton, flax, jute, indigo, unmanufactured tobacco, betel leaves, tendu leaves, rice, coffee and tea but does not include manufactured products such as sugar, edible oils, processed food and processed tobacco" 5.4 It is very much clear from the above that the manufactured products are excluded from the definition of "agricultural produce". The Notification is available only to such produce which fall within the definition given in the Notification. Since, in our opinion, raw sugar is a product which has undergone processing, we are of the opinion that the benefit of exemption is not extendable to raw sugar. Thus, the Cargo Handling Services in respect of handling of cargo of raw sugar would attract the levy of service tax. 5.5 The appellant has contended that they were unde....