TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (10) TMI 115
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....at emerge from the impugned order as well as the documents placed on record of that the assessee M/s. Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS) is engaged in the generation of electricity from coal, during which fly ash is generated as one of the residues. Fly ash is a fine powder and the same is collected in silos to avoid environmental pollution. This fly ash is collected by customers of TTPS under agreements and cleared to cement units. For this, TTPS would collect service charges from such customers for clearing the fly ash, for which they were also providing infrastructural facilities for the collection and disposal of the same. 2.2 Entertaining a doubt that the above activity of TTPS, in connection with the collection and remova....
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....s for collection of fly ash and hence, the same did not involve any service. • The act of disposal of fly ash was done in compliance with Notification issued by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India and also as per the Order of the Industries Department, Government of Tamil Nadu and therefore, the same can never be considered as provision of a taxable service for the levy of Service Tax. • The definition of "support services of business or commerce" would cover various services pertaining to the ordinary trade and merchandise which cannot be equated with the functions performed as per the government policies. • Fly ash is not a good arising out of any manufacturing process, and hen....
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....eats to the environment when disposed of in the open. (vi) The same cannot also be dumped in the open, but however, since the same could be used as a raw material in cement and brick industries, the Government of India had announced measures to promote the use of fly ash. (vii) From the Memorandum of Understanding executed between Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and M/s. Tamilnadu Ash Tech (P) Ltd., Pollachi, it emerges that collection and disposal of fly ash is not a routine business adventure, but a statutory requirement. (viii) The facilitation extended by TTPS for the collection is only towards complying with the statutory requirement, and not with any profit motive. (ix) It is al....
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....ties of TTPS. • The services mentioned in the explanation, namely, providing office along with office utilities, lounge, reception with competent personnel to handle messages, secretarial services, internet and telecom facilities, pantry, and security, are only illustrative and not exhaustive. • The expression is, therefore, omnibus and covers other services also which are in the nature of providing infrastructural support to the service receivers. • The activity of making available facilities like infrastructure, water, lighting, road maintenance, etc., and supply of technical expertise also to be considered as in the nature of provision of infrastructural support services within the meaning of busine....
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....vited our notice on the status of the appeal filed by the Revenue before the Hon'ble Madras High Court wherein the appeal is shown to be pending. 7. Per contra, Shri V. Ravindran, Ld. Advocate, relied on the order of this bench in the case of Mettur Thermal Power Station (supra) and submitted that the very issue of charging Service Tax for the collection of fly ash under business support services has been set aside by this Bench. 8. We have considered the rival contentions, we have carefully perused the impugned Order-in-Original as well as the documents that are referred to in the Show Cause Notices and the impugned order. We have also gone through the order of this Bench relied upon by the Ld. Advocate in the case of Met....
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....ability to Service Tax on the collection and disposal of fly ash generated at the thermal power stations, has also considered the Notification issued by Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, policy decision of the Government of Tamil Nadu, in the context of the scope of levy under business support service, to hold as under: - "16. In our considered view, the activity of collection and removal of Fly ash as per rate of the order of Government of Tamil Nadu would not constitute "infrastructural support service" under the definition of "Support Service of Business or Commerce". We have noticed that Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests issued Notification dated 14-9-1999 to the effect that Fly ash ....