2008 (1) TMI 351

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....The assessees were rendering "Steamer Agent" service and were paying Service tax on the said services. Subsequently, they filed the refund claim for the above amount on the ground that they are authorized Cargo Handling Agent at Cargo Port and Export Cargo is exempted from payment of Service tax. However, the Revenue considered their activity to be part of Steamer Agent and did not accept their contention and rejected the refund claim. The Commissioner (A) after due examination accepted the plea that the activity of Cargo Handling Service carried out inside the port area on the basis of licence issued by NMPT does not come within the category of Port Services. He has held that the assessee is entitled for consequential relief subject to ful....

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....iven to him. Therefore, he would rightly fall with in the ambit of the "Port Services". However, when we examined the issue in terms of Section 42 of the Major Port Trust Act, we find that in terms of that Section, the major port is supposed to carry out a number of activities and there is provision in terms of the said section for the port to authorize any other person to render such services after taking prior approval of the Central Government. In the present case, the appellants strongly contend that the services rendered by them are not on behalf of the ports but on their own behalf. In other words, the appellants render directly the services and the licence is only a permission to undertake such services within the port premises. Ther....