2019 (11) TMI 539

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....all these appeals are whether construction of railway lines for private parties and construction of private roads are taxable under Works Contract Services (WCS) or under Commercial or Industrial Construction Services (CICS). The relevant provisions of the Finance Act, 1994 are as follows: (1) Section 65(25b) of the Finance Act, 1994. ""Commercial or industrial construction" means - (a) construction of a new building or a civil structure or a part thereof; or (b) construction of pipeline or conduit; or (c) completion and finishing services such as glazing, plastering, painting, floor and wall tiling, wall covering and wall papering, wood and metal joinery and carpentry, fencing and railing, construction of swimming pools, acoustic....

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....mal insulation, sound insulation, fire proofing or water proofing, lift and escalator, fire escape staircases or elevators; or (b) construction of a new building or a civil structure or a part thereof, or of a pipeline or conduit, primarily for the purposes of commerce or industry; or (c) construction of a new residential complex or a part thereof; or (d) completion and finishing services, repair, alteration, renovation or restoration of, or similar services, in relation to (b) and (c); or (e) turnkey projects including engineering, procurement and construction or commissioning (EPC) projects." 2. Consequently, the question is whether the demands made by the revenue on the assessees under these heads are sustainable and whether int....

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....y. In the absence of any specific stipulation, any road, any airport, any railway, any bridge or any dam is excluded from the charging section, both under CICS as well as under WCS. As all the services were rendered undisputedly in connection with the railways or roads, they are not covered by the charging section of the Finance Act, 1994 at all and therefore, no service tax is leviable on them. Consequently, no demand on interest and no penalties can be imposed upon them. 4. The case of the revenue is that both CICS and WCS exclude railways or roads. These should be understood as is commonly understood to mean the railway lines of Indian Railways and public roads. Although there could be roads inside the private premises or inside factori....

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....ere is an exemption notification, the benefit of doubt should be construed strictly against the assessee and in favour of the revenue. The dispute in question, in this case, being about the charging section, even if there is any doubt regarding the private railways or private roads being excluded from the charging section in CICS [section 65(25d)] or WCS [section 65(105)(zzzza)], the benefit of such doubt should go to the assessee and not otherwise. 7. Since, this bench has already decided that railways includes private railways for the purposes of the charging section, in one of the assessees' own case [United Rail Road Consultants Pvt Ltd in Final Order No. 30695/19] and in the case of KVR Rail Infra [2019 (5) TMI 376 (CESTAT-Hyd)], we f....