TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (9) TMI 696
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....vil construction that was covered under the exclusion clause of the definition of 'input services' under Rule 2(l)(A)(a) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 is assailed by the appellant in these two appeals. 2. Facts of the case, in a nutshell, is that appellant is a limited company which was awarded contract by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation for setting up of a Common Hazardous Waste Treatment system and in the process, it was required to have landfill (one of the prescribed methods of waste management) to prevent ground water, soil and surface water from being contaminated. A Multi Barrier System with layers of clay and HDPE had to be constructed as per State Pollution Control Board guidelines. Audit team from the respon....
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....on of 'civil structure' of Rule 2(b) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 which she borrowed as a reference in the absence of a clear definition in CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 and in citing the case law of Basha Baig Vs. Choodanath ILR, 1988 Karnataka 1632 of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka which had held that merely digging of earth without structure cannot be equated with construction. She further submitted that for the subsequent period i.e. financial year 2016-17 Learned Commissioner (Appeals) passed an order dropping the demand raised in the show-cause notice on identical ground against which department preferred no appeal, for which the order passed by the Principal Commissioner of Service Tax, Pune and Commissioner (Appeal....
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....ain the exact nature of works required to setup the landfill, reference to the show-cause notice from para 3 to 6 can be taken that was summed up in para 7 of show-cause notice which is reproduced below:- "Thus the landfill is created by excavating soil up to a certain depth, thereafter, laying with various layers of clay and HDPE etc to ascertain non seepage of toxic waste in the ground adjacent to the landfill as per Pollution Control Boards guidelines. Thus the making of the same comes under the ambit of works contract given for the construction." 7. Going by the language of para 3 of the show-cause notice one thing is clear that setting of landfill is a mandatory requirement of the guidelines set by the State Pollution Control Board ....
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....ppellant, every expenditure concerning setting up of the landfill and tax paid there on was taken into consideration to deny the credits on the entire amount. It is, noteworthy, to mention here that in the show-cause, demand was made, as it appeared to the respondent department, that the inputs credits were outside of the definition and more interestingly Learned Commissioner (Appeals) who confirmed the demand had candidly admitted that he was not sure about precise or legal definition of the term 'civil structure' which has taken the demand to a doubtful proposition (Para 25 of the Order-in-Original). Further contradictory findings by two Commissioners on the same issue would demonstrably illustrate that issue involved in this litigation i....