TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2008 (9) TMI 128
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....ortion of the order granting the benefit of time bar and for having remanded the matter on a portion of the demands for grant of the benefit of time bar. The assessee is aggrieved with the denial of the benefit of deduction of wharfage charges paid to the port authorities and collected as part of lump-sum payment from their clients. 2. The assessee-appellant claim that the wharfage charges, which is a statutory port dues was eligible for deductions from value of Custom House Agent services for calculating its taxable value. The Commissioner (A) in the impugned order although has upheld the issue as legally correct and also has noted that port authorities must be paying service charges on such wharfage charges collected under the category o....
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.... period cannot be invoked for extended period claiming concealment with mala fide intention. 3. The appellant's plea on merit is that the wharfage charges are clearly deductible in terms of the Board's Circular itself and the Commissioner (A) cannot take specious argument to somehow confirm the demands by denying the benefit of deduction on wharfage charges. The learned counsel submits that wharfage charges are collected by the port authorities as a statutory levy and it is deductible in terms of CBEC Circular F.No. B/43/1/97-TRU dated 6.6.1997. A copy of the said circular has been filed. The learned counsel relying on the said circular, which clearly clarifies in Para 2.4 and 2.5 is as follows. "2.4 It is clarified that in relation....
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....mount, larger period is sustainable. In this regard, he also relied on large number of judgments. 4. The learned SDR defended the order and submitted that the finding given by the Commissioner (A) is based on Para 2.5 of the said CBEC Circular which is also noted above. She also pleaded for upholding the department's plea invoking larger period. 5. We have carefully considered the submissions We notice from Para 2.4 of the Board Circular that Service Tax will be computed only with reference to such charges as mentioned in Para 2.4. It has been clarified that "in other words, payments made by CHA on behalf of the client, such as statutory levies (cess, customs duties, port dues, etc.) and various other reimbursable expenses incurred are no....