TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (2) TMI 503
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....lity of CENVAT credit of service tax paid on the services provided by M/s Oriental Insurance Co., Ltd., to the appellant. Since, the issue involved in both the appeals is common the cases are together taken up for hearing and disposal by this order. 2. The brief facts of the case are that the appellant is an interface between M/s Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., and customers purchasing jewelry. As per the Tripartite agreement dated 10.04.2011 with insurance company and M/s ALEgION Insurance Broking Ltd, the Insurance Company shall arrange for issue of master insurance policy to the appellant and appellant in turn issues subsidiary policy to the customers. Appellant had collected certain amount from its customers towards the issue of such subs....
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....ce of the appellant. The Learned Commissioner has not given any cogent reason as to how the insurance service received by the appellant would not qualify as input service. Further the finding in the impugned order that the appellant has not received any service is contradictory to the actual facts of the case. Learned Counsel further submits that the issue in the present appeal is squarely covered by various judgments including the larger bench order in the matter of M/s South Indian Bank Vs CC, CE & ST, Calicut (reported in 2020 (41) GSTL 609 (Tri.LB), where the Tribunal considered similar issue, where the service provided by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation to the banks for insuring the deposits of public with the ba....
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....g on any class of insurance business". Further, the proviso of Rule 4(a)(1) Service Tax Rules, 1994 make it abundantly clear that in case of service provided by a non-banking financial company, any document by whatever named called would be used in the place of an invoice, bill or challan. Thus, the reason given by the Adjudicating authority denying the benefit on the ground that the document is without proper serial number is illegal and unsustainable. 6. Regarding the penalty, Learned Counsel submits that the appellant had availed the CENVAT credit on bonafide belief that insurance service is being an inevitable part of the Gold Care warranty scheme and insurance service utilized for said scheme would an eligible input. Therefore, the pr....
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....e Insurance Company cannot be considered as a document as prescribed under Rule 9 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 for taking credit. Regarding the Larger bench decision in the matter of M/s South Indian Bank (supra), Learned AR submits that in appellant's case, the insurance service received by the Appellant from the Insurance Company is not mandatory and without this service the Appellant can function. 8. Heard both sides perused the records. We have gone through the submissions. considering the above submission, it is an admitted fact that appellant was providing taxable service and paid service tax on 50% of the value collected from the customers. "Output service" is defined under Rule 2(p) of the 2004 Rules. Prior to 1 July, 2012, as ....
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.... the matter of Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore Vs. PNB Metlife India Insurance Co. Ltd. [2015 (39) S.T.R. 561 (Kar.)], the issue that came up for consideration before the Karnataka High Court was whether an assessee can avail Cenvat credit of service tax paid on re-insurance services by treating the said service as an "input service". PNB Metlife India Insurance Company was carrying on life insurance business and on the insurance policy issued by it, service tax was charged from the customers. It also procured re-insurance service from overseas insurance companies and availed Cenvat credit of service tax paid on such services received by it. The Cenvat credit was denied by the Department for the reason that re-insurance service ca....