TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (9) TMI 1498
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....The Respondent, Crown Tours Ltd. [the Respondent], is a 'tour operator' providing services like transportation, entry to monuments and joyrides etc. to the main tour operator in relation to a 'package tour'. It availed the benefit of abatement of Service Tax of 75% of the amount charged in gross receipts as per the Exemption Notification No. 01/2006 dated 01 March, 2006 as amended by Notification No. 38/2007 dated 23 August, 2007. An audit was conducted on the Respondent for the period of October, 2007 - March, 2010. The Department alleged that the Respondent did not provide the whole 'tour package' as defined in the Explanation to the Notification and thus would not qualify for 75% abatement stipulated at Sl. No. 2(n)(i) of the Notification. According to the Department, the Respondent fell at Entry 2(n)(iii) of the Notification, which covers 'services other than the services in (i) and (ii) provided by a tour operator in relation to a tour' and so that the Respondent was eligible to avail an abatement of 60% only. 3. Consequently, a show cause notice dated 19 March, 2013 was issued to the Respondent regarding non-payment of Service Tax amounting to Rs. 22,62,511/- and also prop....
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....(n)(iii) and not Sl. No. 2(n)(i) of the Notification dated 01 March, 2006 as amended by Notification dated 23 August, 2007. In this connection, learned Authorised Representative submitted that the two ingredients i.e accommodation charges and food charges were absent in the services provided by the Respondent, as would be clear from the invoices/bills issued by the Respondent and, therefore, as all the services mentioned at Sl. No. 2(n)(i) of the Notification were not provided by the Respondent, the abatement provided under Sl. No. 2(n)(i) would not be available to the Respondent and the Respondent would be entitled to the abatement as provided for under Sl. No. 2(n)(iii). He, therefore, submitted that the Commissioner (Appeals) committed a mistake in holding that the abatement provided for at Sl. No. 2(n)(i) would be available to the Respondent even if some of the services mentioned therein were provided by the Respondent. 7. Shri Rahul Lakhwani, learned Counsel for the Respondent, however, submitted that from a plain reading of the entry at Sl. No. 2(n)(i) of the Notification, it would be clear that there is no requirement that a service provider must provide all the services ....
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....Services provided or to be provided to any person, by a tour operator in relation to a package tour. Explanation - The expression "package tour" means a tour wherein transportation, accommodation for stay, food, tourist guide, entry to monuments and other similar services in relation to tour are provided by the tour operator as part of the package tour to the person undertaking the tour. The bill issued for this purpose indicates that it is inclusive of charges for such a tour. 25 (ii) Services provided or to be provided to any person, by a tour operator in relation to a tour, if the tour operator is providing services solely of arranging or booking accommodation for any person in relation to a tour. (a) The invoice, bill or challan issued indicates that it is towards charges for such accommodation, and (b) this exemption shall not apply in such cases where the invoice, bill or challan issued by the tour operator, in relation to a tour, only includes the service charges for arranging or booking accommodation for any person and does not include the cost of such accommodation. 10 (iii) Services....
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....are provided by the tour operator as part of the package tour, the said services shall be treated in relation to package tour. In this case the appellants are engaged in providing the part of the services of package tour therefore the same is also the part of package tour. In the said explanation there is nothing mentioned that whole of the services are required to be provided by the one person but the word in relation to the package tour mentioned. The word in relation having vide scope to cover all the services which are provided in relation to the package tour which can be one service or multiple services. In the appellants' case it is found that the appellants have provided multiple services i.e local transportation, joy rides, entry to monuments, guide fees, assistance etc. which are the part of package tour, therefore, the said services qualify in relation to the package tour and accordingly covered under Sr. No. 2(n)(i) of the said notification. In the explanation there is nothing that the complete tour package are required to be provided. In the contrary, it is mentioned that if the tour operator provided as part of the package tour to the person undertaking the tour, the s....
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....espect of said demand. Held accordingly." 14. It would also be pertinent to refer to the decision of the Supreme Court in Doypack Systems Pvt. Ltd. The Supreme Court observed that the expression 'in relation to' is a very broad expression and the observations are as follows : "50. The expression "in relation to" (so also "pertaining to"), is a very broad expression which pre-supposes another subject matter. These are words of comprehensiveness which might both have a direct significance as well as an indirect significance depending on the context, see State Wakf Board v. Abdul Aziz (A.I.R. 1968 Madras 79, 81 paragraphs 8 and 10,following and approving Nitai Charan Bagchi v. Suresh Chandra Paul (66 C.W.N. 767), Shyam Lal v. M. Shayamlal (A.I.R. 1933 All. 649) and 76 Corpus Juris Secundum 621. Assuming that the investments in shares and in lands do not form part of the undertakings but are different subject matters, even then these would be brought within the purview of the vesting by reason of the above expressions. In this connection reference may be made to 76 Corpus Juris Secundum at pages 620 and 621 where it is stated that the term "relate"' is also defined as meaning to ....