2018 (9) TMI 1051

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....Excise Tariff Act, 1985. They availed CENVAT Credit on inputs, capital goods and input services and utilized the same for payment of duty. 1.2 Based on audit observations, a Show Cause Notice in No. 11/2015-CE dated 09.09.2015 was issued on the appellant for recovering Rs. 71,074/- (being the CENVAT Credit wrongly availed) along with interest and for imposing penalty under Rule 15(2) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 read with Section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944 on the allegations that the appellant had wrongly availed service tax credit on 'Gardening Services' during the period from 30.08.2011 to 28.10.2013 which, according to the Revenue was not used either directly or indirectly in the manufacture of the final products as stipulat....

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....g, including service tax paid, formed part of the value of final products and, therefore, the above input services were very much part of and used in or in relation to the manufacture of excisable goods. 3.2 The Ld. Consultant relied on the following judgments : • C.C.E. & S.T., LTU, Chennai Vs. Rane TRW Steering Systems Ltd. - 2015 (39) S.T.R. 13 (Mad.) - para 8 • Millipore India Ltd. Vs. C.C.E. Bangalore - II - 2009 (13) S.T.R. 626 (Tri. - Bang.) - para 5 • Union Of India Vs. HEG Ltd. - 2011 (24) S.T.R. 275 (Chattisgarh) - para 6 • Wipro Ltd. Vs. C.C.E. Puducherry - 2017-TIOL-897-HC-MAD-ST - para 5.4,7 & 8 • M/s. Sri Rama Vilas Services Ltd. Vs. CESTAT - 2017-TIOL-807-HC-....

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....ervice, it declined relief with respect to house keeping and gardening services. 5.3 It is, in these circumstances that the matter has travelled to this Court. 5.4 As indicated above, this Court in similar circumstances held that cenvat credit would be available to an Assessee with respect to housekeeping and landscaping services. 5.5 This court, followed the view of the Divison Bench of the Karnataka High Court in Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore II Vs. Millipore India Pvt. Ltd., 2012 (26) S.T.R. 514 (Kar). Ther relevant observations of this Court in Rane TRW Steering Systems Limited case are extracted hereinafter: 7. In Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore-II v. Millipore India Pvt. Ltd. [2012 (26) S.T.R. 5....

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....ight in holding that the service tax paid in all these cases would fall within the input services and the assessee is entitled to the benefit thereof. In that view of the matter, we do not see any infirmity in the order passed by the Tribunal. Accordingly, the substantial questions of law framed in this appeal are answered in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue. The appeal is dismissed." 8. A cursory reading of the said judgment reveals that the facts in issue therein are similar to the facts in the present case. It is clear from the decision that where an employer spends money to maintain their factory premises in an eco-friendly manner, the tax paid on such services would form part of the cost of the final products and....