TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (3) TMI 285
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....ce" as defined under Section 65 (104c) of Finance Act, 1994 specifically under "Managing, Distribution & Logistic". Further it was also alleged that input service credit of service tax paid by the Appellant-assessee in respect of invoices in the name of branch offices/other premises, both registered or unregistered are not facilitating eligible documents under Rule 9 of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 CCR, 2004. The Appellant-assessee in their reply to the SCN submitted that the transportation of export cargo through ocean/air was not taxable service as it was not notified by the Government under any of the sub-clause of clause (105) of Section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994 The Act. It is the case of the Appellant-assessee that the ocean/air freight collected by them from their customers was not taxable under the category of "Business Support Service BSS." It is also their case that Cenvat credit was correctly taken in respect of duty paid input services procured by the Appellant-assessee for facilitating their output services and the same could not be disallowed on the basis that the invoices were raised in the name of their other offices/branches which upto the date of taking centralized....
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....lients for the service activities in question was not that of pure-agent and principal?" 4. The learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the Appellant-assessee submits that the assessee was purchasing space from the shipping lines on a principal to principal basis and in turn selling space to the individual exporter at slightly higher amount for transportation of their containerized cargo. It is his submission that such buying and selling of cargo space on ships/vessels fails to qualify as "Services' per se and thus such transactions were not liable to service tax. He further submits that trading of cargo space in the ship/aircraft by the assessee does not amount to rendition of any services and thus, service tax is not payable under the category of "BSS'. In support of his submissions, he relied upon the following decisions:- Supply Chain Logistics Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Service Tax, Chennai 2018-TIOL-CESTAT-MAD-3118; APL Logistics (India) Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Chennai-III, 2014 (36) S.T.R. 1310 (Tri.-Chennai); Satkar Logistics vs. Commissioner of Service Tax, Delhi-III 2021 (8) TMI 694-CESTAT New Delhi; EMU Lines Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner ....
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.... arranges to deliver the export goods at the godown of the foreign party in the destination country. Accordingly, the Appellant assessee approaches various shipping lines/airlines and books cargo space on such ships/planes (as per requirement of the client) on agreed price, and in turn, the Appellant assessee is approached by the clients (importers/exporters) for transportation of their goods. The amount paid towards freight by Appellant assessee to the shipping lines/ airlines could be less than what the Appellant assessee receives from selling of space to clients or more than that or similar also. Thus, there could be profit or loss or no-profit no-loss to the Appellant in buying & selling of cargo space. Further, the Appellant makes certain payments on behalf of its clients which are in the nature of terminal handling services, documentation service, Bill of Lading service, unloading of cargo service at the foreign port and delivery of such cargo at the godown of the foreign party, and the same are reimbursed by the clients without any mark-up. Since the payment made by the client towards the said charges are in the nature of reimbursements, same was non-taxable, however, the Ap....
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....m India relating to post negative list under Rule 10 of the "Place of Provision of Services Rules 2012", which provides that the place of provision of the service of transportation of goods by air/sea is the destination of the goods, i.e. from a place in India to a place outside India, would be a place outside the taxable territory and hence not liable to service tax. Only the amount which is received as an intermediary, was taxable. In the present case, the Department held that the Appellant assessee is not an intermediary (acting on principal to principal basis). It is submitted that the Appellant assessee relies on the said Circular dated 12.8.2016 to contend that it has fulfilled the condition envisaged in Para 2.2 of the said Circular and in such situation, when acting as a principal, the Appellant would not be liable to pay service tax when the destination of the goods is from a place in India to a place outside India in terms of Para 3 of the said Circular. The conditions as fulfilled by Appellant in the instance case are demonstrated in the table below:- SI. No. Condition Satisfaction by the Appellant assessee 1. The freight forwarder separately negotiates the terms of....
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....rther, it is submitted that the Appellant assessee was under the bona fide belief that it was not liable to pay service tax in the alleged manner. It is imperative to state that the Appellant assessee had discharged their tax liability towards terminal handling services, documentation service, Bill of Lading service, etc., even when they were not required to do so under the existing law during the relevant period. This further establishes bona fide intent of the Appellant assessee. 12. Similarly in the case of Greenwich Meridian Logistics India Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Service Tax, 2016-TIOL-869-CESTAT-Mum, the Tribunal observed as under:- "10. The original authority has proceeded on the assumption that there is only one payment and, that too, for freight charged by the shipping line. He has rejected the possibility of trading in space or slots on vessels by holding that trading in space or slots is a figment and freight is all that is transacted. This is a patent misconstruing of the usage of that expression. Freight, though used colloquially to describe all manner of carriage, is the nomenclature assigned to the consideration for space provided on a vessel for a particula....