AI Drafter - (New and Powerful) 
Generate professional replies, appeals, opinions to Show Cause Notices, assessment orders, audit objections, and other legal communications using TaxTMI's AI Drafter. 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (7) TMI 1747
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e engaged in the activity of development of software for domestic clients as well as overseas clients. They also provide services to their clients under 'Facility Management Services', 'Maintenance Services' and 'Consulting Services'. The DGCEI after detailed investigations alleged that the appellant had performed the services classifiable under 'Management Consultancy Service' as defined under section 65(65) of the Finance Act 1994 and taxable under Section 65(105)(r) of the Finance Act 1994. Accordingly, a show-cause notice No.62/2006-07 dated 21.10.2006 was issued demanding duty amount of Rs.72,25,49,033/- for the period September 2003 to April 2006. The Commissioner on perusal of 12 contract agreements entered by the appellant for providing services to their clients found that the appellant was in fact managing the information technology infrastructure environment of their clients and the operation of the computer systems, which was only a peripheral in nature. He observed that the activities undertaken by the appellant are core activities to manage the office of their clients' organizations and hence, these services fall under the category of 'Management Consultancy Service' a....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s undertaken by them cannot be classified under Management Consultancy Service' for the period prior to May 1, 2006, as settled in the case of Hewlett Packard India Sales P. Ltd. v. CCE, C & ST, Bangalore-LTU 2015 (38) STR 663 (Tri.-Bang.) and this decision has attained finality as the department has not challenged it. The definition of 'Management Consultant' prior to May 1, 2006 clearly hold that appellant's services were not covered under the said category since they were not in the nature of conceptualizing, devising, development, modification, rectification or up-gradating of any working system of any organization. The computer Facility Management Services are not liable to Service Tax under MCS since the definition of MCS relates to advisory and consultancy services and not executory services as is held in the case of Glaxo SmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. CCE, Mumbai-IV 2005 (188) ELT 171 (Tri.-Mumbai) wherein it was held that "..would support the acceptance of the plea made by the ld. Advocate that the nature of the Executory Services provided by the Marketing Team Staff would more appropriately fall under 'business auxiliary service' & not 'Management Consultancy service....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....k services, data centre services, application management services, network station management services, data network services and disaster recovery services, all in respect of operating customer's IT systems, towards operation of the entire IT system for the customer are not covered under the definition of a 'Management or Business Consultant'. In this regard, the Appellant places reliance on the case of Santani Sales Organization vs. CESTAT, New Delhi: 2018 (13) GSTL 144 (Del.) which held that, 'in taxing enactment one should normally look at what is said in the provision, without reading anything into it impliedly or on the basis of presumption, for there is no room for any intendment'. (v) It is stated that the amended definition under MCS has been expanded to include any person rendering any advice, consultancy or technical assistance in relation to management of IT resources and w.e.f. May 1, 2006, they classified their services under the amended definition of 'Management Consultant', since their services would be covered under 'management of IT resources'. Referring to the Circular No. 334/1/2008-TRU dated February 29, 2009, which makes reference to management of inf....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s retrospective effect and is normally effective from the date of the statute, unless otherwise provided in the amending Act or notification. Thus, we hold that in view of the clarification by way of substitution of Explanation II, service tax is not leviable on surrender charges by any stretch of imagination." (vii) The Department has relied on the decision of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. vs. CST, Delhi: 2018 (18) GSTL 478 (Tri.-Del.) as affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2018 (18) GSTL J127 (SC) and on the decision of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. v. CCE, Mumbai 2019 (6) TMI 109-Tri-Mumbai. At the outset, the Appellant submits that the services rendered by the Appellant are distinguishable from the ones in the case of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as the IT Outsourcing Agreement with Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. dated March 26, 2004, cover a wider scope of work in respect of IT function, than the services provided by TCS and thereby, the said case is distinguishable on facts. The Appellant also submits that the said Tata Consultancy Services decision did not take into consideration the argument with respect to IT Services under Business Auxiliary Service and the interpr....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ned order. 5. Shri V. Lakshmi Kumaran, Sr. Advocate, S/Shri Ravi Raghavan, Syed Peeran and Ms. Meghna Lal, Advocates appeared on behalf of M/s. Wipro Ltd. The gist of the submissions made by the learned Sr. Advocate are as under: (i) He submitted that the appellant was inter alia engaged in providing information technology software services for the manufacture, sale and maintenance of computers, selling of hardware products of other leading brands, rendering of IT Facility Management Service/ Infrastructure Management Services and trading of software and with effect from 14.09.2004 had obtained centralised registration in respect of all its units. Based on Audit conducted in March 2004, the department vide letter O.C.No.1248/2003 dated 31.03.2004 had raised various objections including objections regarding amount under Account Head 'Revenue-Customer Support-Facility Management' and the Appellant vide letter dated 19.04.2004 relying upon the TRU Clarification issued by Ministry of Finance (D.O.F No. 334/0/2003-TRU dated 28.02.2003) submitted that Computer Facility Management falls outside the purview of Service Tax. After the second audit enquiry in January, 2006, no obj....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....-Del) as affirmed by Supreme Court in Commissioner v. Basti Sugar Mills Co. Ltd 2012 (25) S.T.R J154 (SC) the distinction between advisory service and actual performance of management function has been clearly drawn as seen from the observations reproduced below: "8. An ocean separates a manager from a management consultant, a performer from an advisor or a coach. That ocean exists in the present case also. We dealt with a similar case in Rolls Royce Industries Power (I) Ltd. (Supra) and held that where the agreement conferred operational autonomy and responsibility on the contracted party, the relationship is not one of consultancy. The ratio of that decision covers the present dispute also. There is no management consultancy in the facts of the present case and the demand is clearly beyond the scope of the statute." (iv) This Hon'ble Tribunal in the case of Hewlett Packard India Sales P. Ltd. v. Commissioner of C.E., C. & S.T., Bangalore reported at 2015 (38) S.T.R. 663 (Tri. - Bang.) (Para 4), while examining an identical fact matrix held that the assessee was not providing Management Consultancy Services and that IT Facility Management Services get f....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....h advising. Therefore, assistance in the nature of technical assistance is still in the nature of assistance, i.e., monitoring or helping with the implementation of work and cannot be extended to mean the implementation of work itself. Reference in this regard is drawn from the decision of M.P. Police Housing Corporation Ltd. v. Commissioner of C. Ex. & S.T., Bhopal reported at 2017 (47) S.T.R. 234 (Tri. - Del) (Para 8, 9) wherein the Hon'ble Tribunal held that : "8. The appellant is supervising the construction and to that extent it can be said as rendering technical assistance. But the words 'technical assistance' as mentioned in the definition refers to advice and consultancy only and does not cover supervision. The words technical assistance is preceded by the words advice and consultancy. It is a well laid out principle of interpretation that the term should be read ejusdem generis, i.e., should be read in the context of the preceding words that is advice and consultancy. In this view of things it would be too far-fetched to take the view that supervision of construction is done as part of consulting engineers work." (vi) It is submitted that in the case of T....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....he management of the company as a whole and still means that the Appellant is undertaking execution at a level. This aspect has not been examined in the above mentioned cases and the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Basti Sugar Mills Co. (supra) has been disregarded on the mere fact that the entire management has not been outsourced herein. It is further submitted that the decisions are also 'per incuriam' in law in view of the fact that they have been passed on utter disregard to the numerous judgements explaining the legal principle and application of ejusdem generis and noscitur a sociis while interpreting the term 'technical assistance' appearing along with 'advice' and 'consultancy' and the interpretation given by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the numerous Income Tax rulings, as demonstrated above. It is also stated that the decision in the matter of Tata Consultancy Services (supra) of the Delhi Tribunal has failed to consider earlier decision in the case of MP Police Housing Corporation Ltd. (supra) wherein the Hon'ble Bench interpreted the term 'technical assistance' in light of the terms 'advice' and 'consultancy' and gave a narrow meaning to the same in the context of 'Con....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ion Technology Service' under Section 65(105)(zzze). Prior to the introduction of IT services, the Appellant's activities at the most could be considered as an activity under 'Business Auxiliary Service' ('BAS') under Section 65(105)(19). Referring to the Circular No. 62/11/2003-ST dated 21.08.2003 by CBEC wherein it was clarified that services inter alia in relation to designing, developing and maintenance of system in relation to operation of computer systems is covered within the ambit of IT services mentioned in the exclusion of BAS and not taxable. This is in consonance with the Circular D.O.F. No. 334/1/2008-TRU dated 29.02.2008 wherein the Department of Revenue while clarifying the scope of service observed that IT software services provided for use in business or commerce shall be covered within the ambit of the proposed service of 'IT Software Service'. Thus, it is submitted that the service provided by the Appellant was not taxable till 16.05.2008, i.e. prior to the introduction of 'IT Software Service' in the Finance Act, 1994. Post 16.05.2008, the Appellant has duly amended their registration certificate to include IT services and have discharged service tax. In view of....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....levant issue, the demand shall be barred by limitation and extended period shall not be invoked. It is submitted that the Appellant has not contravened any provisions of the Act or Rules and penalty being penal in nature, cannot be imposed herein. Further, it is settled law that simultaneous penalty under Section 76 and 78 of the Finance Act, 1884 cannot be invoked by the Department. Thus, the penalty deserves to be set aside on this ground alone. 6. Shri P. R. V. Ramanan, learned Special Counsel for the Revenue made the following submissions: (i) According to M/s. IBM India (P) Ltd., the issue of classification of the services in question, for the period of dispute viz., 1/9/2003 to 1/5/2006, presents three alternatives in the following order: (a) Information Technology Service (ITS) excluded from 'Business Auxiliary Services' (BAS); (b) Business Support Service (BSS); and (c) Consulting Engineer Service (CES). As per M/s. Wipro Ltd., for the period of dispute viz. April 2002 to March 2008, the services in question were covered under 'Information Technology Service' (ITS) which stood excluded from BAS. On the other hand, Revenue's stand is that none of these op....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....actices, analyses these, recommends appropriate action and provides assistance when requested in implementation of recommended solutions. Thus, 'Management consultancy' is defined as provision of analysis, advice, and assistance to managers in a variety of operational areas. With the advent of 'information technology', both management and management consulting have undergone significant transformation. But the fact remains that 'information technology', as its name itself suggests, is essentially an enormously effective tool which leverages the information that flows from the basic documents, which may be collectively called 'data' and enables the management in decision making. It is a major tool in many aspects of management consulting, playing a central role in such activities as, scenario analysis in strategic planning, customer data mining in marketing management and assembly line load balancing in operations management. Information technology is, thus, a tool which, with the help of technology resources, enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of any working system within an organization and in turn contribute towards the realization of the go....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....n any manner and includes any person who renders any advice, consultancy or technical assistance, relating to conceptualizing, devising, development, modification, rectification or rectification upgradation of any working system of any organization". (vi) Referring to the Lordships observations, in the case of Black Diamond Beverages Ltd vs. CTO, it is argued that the definition will embrace only what is comprised within the ordinary, popular or natural meaning of the 'means' part together with what is mentioned in the 'includes' part of the definition. The inclusive part of the definition cannot prevent the main provision from receiving its natural meaning. The interpretation of 'means' part is in no way controlled or affected by the second part which includes' certain other things in the definition. The 'means' part of the definition is generic in nature and is of wide import. Also relied on the CBEC's Circular No. 1/1/2001-ST, dated 27-6-2001 [F. No. 177/2/2001-CX.4], where it is stated "In this regard, the Board had consulted the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad for obtaining an expert opinion on the subject matter. They hav....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s to the fact that there was due consideration of the merits of the case by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, quite contrary to the facts and law involved in the case of the Shanmugavel Nadar (supra). Similarly, in the case of Technoweld Industries case (supra), there is no finding that there was no merit in the appeal. Nevertheless, the Hon'ble Supreme Court proceeded to decide the issue on merits and the decision in the case of Sun Export Corporation (supra) stands overruled by the Hon'ble Supreme Court's decision in the case of Commissioner of Cus. (Import), Mumbai vs. Dilip Kumar & Company [2018 (361) E.L.T. 577 (S.C.)]. Further, it is submitted in the case of Hewlett Packard India Sales Ltd [ 2015 (38) STR (663)], the Tribunal did not consider whether similar services rendered by Hewlett Packard could be covered under the expression 'technical assistance' as dealt with in the Delhi Bench in the case of Tata Consultancy Service (supra). The said Tata Consultancy Service decision took a comprehensive view of the definition of the expression "Management Consultancy Service", while Hewlett Packard's (supra) decision did not and hence, not comparable. It is further claimed that if....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....terpretation of 'means' part is in no way controlled or affected by the second part which includes certain other things in the definition. The interpretation sought is with reference to the 'inclusive' part of the definition but in actual fact the 'means' part itself squarely covers the services rendered by the appellants. Without prejudice to the above submission, the application of the principle of 'noscitur a sociis' would arise only when the larger meaning of an expression could not have been intended given that the terms that accompany the subject expression would point towards a restriction on its larger meaning. In this regard, an excerpt from the judgment of the Apex court in the case of Rohit Pulp and Paper mills Ltd. vs. CCE: 1990 (47) ELT 491 (SC) is placed below: The principle of statutory interpretation by which a generic word receives a limited interpretation by reason of its context is well established. In the context with which we are concerned, we can legitimately draw upon the "noscitur a sociis" principle. This expression simply means that "the meaning of a word is to be judged by the company it keeps." Gajendragadkar, J. ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... made through communication D.O.F No.334/1/2003-TRU dated 28.02.2003 exempts computer enabled services and not computer technology resources management. The computer-enabled services is enumerated as data processing, networking, back-office processing, networking, back-office processing, computer facility management while the computer facility management here is in the context of computer enabled services. In this case of IBM India Pvt. Ltd. vs. CST, Bangalore: 2010 (17) STR 317 (Tri.-Bang.), the issue was whether implementation of ERP software, as distinct from ERP planning and advice, would get covered under MCS. Since Information Technology Software Services (ITSS), specifically covering Implementation of IT software was introduced with effect from 16.05.2008, the Hon'ble Tribunal took the view that prior to that date no Service Tax was payable on implementation of ERP software. The appeal filed by the Revenue was dismissed at admission stage by the Apex Court. It may, however be mentioned that the facts of the present cases of M/s. IBM India (P) Ltd. and M/s. Wipro Ltd., are very much distinguishable. The services rendered by them are not of the nature of implementation of ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....Business and Commerce" [Section 65(104c)] would show that the 'means' part merely indicates that the services provided should be in relation to business or commerce. None of the enumerated services covers the services rendered by M/s. IBM India (P) Ltd. Besides, services rendered by M/s. IBM India (P) Ltd. are not in the nature of 'transaction processing'. It is further contended by appellants that under BSS, the expression "Infrastructural Support Service" would cover the said services. The aforesaid expression is defined as "infrastructural support services includes providing office along with office utilities, lounge, reception with competent personnel to handle messages, secretarial services, internet and telecom facilities, pantry and security". In the instant case, M/s. IBM India (P) Ltd. provided these services at the premises of the clients utilizing clients' infrastructure including personnel. (xv) The definition "consulting engineer means any professionally qualified engineer or an engineering firm who, either directly or indirectly, renders any advice, consultancy or technical assistance in any manner to a client in one or more disciplines of....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ice primarily in relation to the operation of computer systems', whereas they were engaged in the management of the entire IT infrastructure environment, which included planning and devising of the system and its development, modification and upgradation. This constituted deliberate misrepresentation of facts and non-declaration of material particulars with intent to evade Service Tax. This is supported by the fact that they voluntarily paid Service Tax with effect from 01.05.2006 under the category of MCS accepting that they were engaged in the 'Management of IT resources'. Accordingly, he has held that invocation of extended period of limitation was justified. M/s. IBM India (P) Ltd. is a world-renowned company which has been a pioneer in combining management consulting with IT resource management. The fact that they had started paying duty under MCS from 01.05.2006 is itself an indication that in its own reckoning the services rendered amounted to MCS. Therefore, their letters to the department claiming exclusion under BAS as ITS constitutes deliberate misstatement and suppression of true facts. Similarly, in the case of M/s. Wipro Ltd., the adjudicating authority ha....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....management of any organization in any manner and includes any person who renders any advice, consultancy or technical assistance in relation to financial management, human resource management, marketing management, production management, logistics management, procurement and management of information technology resources or other similar areas of management" From 01.06.2007 0nwards "Management or Business Consultant" means any person who is engaged in providing any service, either directly or indirectly, in connection with the management of any organization or business in any manner and includes any person who renders any advice, consultancy or technical assistance, in relation to financial management, human resources management, marketing management, production management, logistics management, procurement and management of information technology resources or other similar areas of management. Form these definition at different time periods it is any person who is engaged in providing any service, either directly or indirectly, in connection with the management of any organization in any manner and includes any person who renders any advice, consultancy or techni....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e appellant reviews vendors proposals and as in the case of Cadbury India Ltd. keeps abreast and apprise Cadbury India Ltd. of the latest technological product developments etc. Similarly, in the case of Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd., in addition to information technology service, Availability Management, Batch Management, Capacity Management, Change Management, Configuration Management, Inventory Management, Performance Management, Problem Management, Recovery Management etc. In addition to review vendor proposals, to facilitate existing and future systems compatibility with changing industrial standards. They also maintain contact with vendors providing data processing, telecommunications and end-user services for coordinating and managing Tata Steel Contracts with the vendor. 10.4 The Agreements also define each of these parameters undertaken by the appellant. Available Management is the process for coordinating the appropriate skills, information, tools and procedures required to manage the availability of interactive networks and their supporting hardware and software components. Batch Management is the process for controlling production batch work including the scheduli....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nologies. There is no doubt that hardware and software is primarily used and their IT strategies are put in place for the overall development of the organisation. Therefore, it cannot be stated that these agreements are limited only to IT as claimed by the appellant, instead their activities/services rendered by them clearly fall under the category of 'Management Consultancy Service' as defined above. 10.6 In the appellants own case of IBM India Pvt. Ltd. Versus Commissioner of Service Tax, Bangalore, the Tribunal observed as follows: "It should be borne in mind that the appellants have already been paying the Service Tax for ERP Planning and advice under the category of management consultancy service. Hence, the impugned orders have not merit. We set aside the same and allow the appeals with consequential relief". Therefore, in view of the undisputed admitted facts the appellant is liable to duty as Management Consultant. Service Tax Appeal No.548 and 549 of 2009 11. Coming to the Agreements entered by M/s. Wipro Ltd., the appellant with M/s. Texas Instruments (India) Pvt. Ltd., Vijaya Bank and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd. etc., the following facts co....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....widen the scope of their market. 12.2 In the case of Intelligroup Asia Pvt. Ltd. Versus Commissioner of C. Ex., Hyderabad (supra), the observations were as follows: "13. In view of the above, the following emerges : (a) In the instant case, the appellants are not the "manufacturer/ producer" of ERP software. The appellants' clients procure ERP packages from the market and the appellants are involved basically in the implementation of ERP packages after suitably adopting the ERP software. Their work involved customizing the ERP package to suit the needs of individual clients and required utilizing skilled technical team and the skill required was in the field of engineering rather than in the areas of management such as finance, marketing, etc. They are also into upgradation of application software from existing release level to higher version. They are also specifically into running of electronic data processing centre, business of data processing, word processing, etc. The advisory role, if any, is only in the field of Engineering and the services would fall under the category of consulting engineers only. (b) It has not been shown that the appellants....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... replacement of IT components so as to keep the IT environment functioning properly keeping in account the business requirement of the client." 12.5 In the case of IBM India Pvt. Ltd. Versus Commissioner of Service Tax, Bangalore (supra), the Tribunal observed as follows: "4. As regards ERP planning and advice, the appellants are discharging Service Tax liability under the management consultancy services. This is not in dispute. However, with regard to the ERP implementation service, according to the Department, the said service would be liable to a tax under the category of management consultancy service, whereas according to the appellants, they would be taxable with effect from May 16, 2008 under the category of 'information technology software services' and not under the 'management consultancy service'. 5. ..... 6. ...... 7. In the present case, the ERP implementation service is definitely for use in furtherance of business and commerce and the service under dispute is for the implementation. So, implementation of the ERP services is specifically covered under the information technology service, which was effective only from 16-5-2008. Un....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....n providing any service, either directly or indirectly, in connection with the management of any organization in any manner and includes any person who renders any advice, consultancy or technical assistance, in relating to conceptualizing, devising, development, modification, rectification or upgradation of any working system of any organization." The definition underwent a change on 1-5-2006 and during 1-5-2006 to 1-6-2007, the revised definition read as follows : "'Management Consultant' means any person who is engaged in providing any service, either directly or indirectly, in connection with the management of any organisation in any manner and includes any person who renders any advice, consultancy or technical assistance, in relation to financial management, human resources management, marketing management, production management, logistics management, procurement and management of information technology resources or other similar areas of management." The definition underwent a further change w.e.f. 1-6-2007 and the amended definition read as follows : "'Management or business Consultant' means any person who is engaged in providing any ser....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....uously relied on the decisions of the Tribunal in the case of Basti Sugar Mills as well as Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (supra). We have carefully considered the said decisions but we find that in both the above decisions the issue was different from the one before us. In both the above cases the Tribunal had occasion to examine the liability of Service Tax in those cases where the entire management of a company was outsourced to another. It was held in those cases that such activities are not covered by the definition of management consultant. But as discussed above, we are of the view that the activities carried out by the appellant as per the Facility Management Agreement for DST will fall within the definition of Management Consultancy Services and hence on merit levy of Service Tax is sustainable." 14. The present appeals are based on the Agreements as already discussed above and appellants are into various management services right from the primary targets to the end achievement of various goals of their clients through latest technology. The cases relied upon by the learned Counsels, the facts are entirely different as they deal with software packages and they do not discus....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....or to provide project management services including but not limited to on site job coordination, delivery and job execution scheduling, technical support on design of the solution and installation of the Products and related services thereto." c. As per the Annexure-II-PO No 38167 dated 18/07/2005 (Purchase Order of Honeywell Automation India Ltd) following is scope of work assigned to appellant. 1. Technical Support and consultancy on design of smart card. 2. Project Management, Scheduling and Delivery Coordination. 3. On sile job coordination for front availability and implementation infrastructure. 4. Develop customized interface software between Honeywell EBI and Ultimatix. 5. User acceptance Test support to HAll on solution developed. 6. Integration of solution developed with Ultimatix, CMC Biometric Solution and TCS smart card management system. 7. Work with Hail To stabilize the solution post implementation/ integration. 8. Work with hail for final acceptance test on the system developed. c. From the scope of work as indicated above, Honeywell has contracted appellants to provide techni....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rmance of the management function. In the present case, the appellant was in-charge of the operation of the factory and thus was performing the management function." This case lays down the test that Management itself cannot be management consultant. Since that's not the issue in dispute in present case we do not find that this decision is applicable. g. The issue in consideration in decision at 'iii' was in relation to Consulting, Engineer Services and not Management Consultancy Service. Hence that decision to is distinguishable" 16. The Commissioner in the impugned order observed that the appellant M/s. Wipro Ltd. were rendering various services as part of the facility management service like network management, computer infrastructure management, data management patch management, configuration management vendor management, monitoring uptime utilisation, troubleshooting operations etc. These services rendered by the appellant to their clients clearly fall into the category of 'Management Consultancy Service' as is defined and deliberated by the Tribunal in the case of Tata Consultancy Services (supra). 17. Similarly in the case of M/s. IBM Indi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....d the normal period. 19. With regard to limitation in Service Tax Appeal No.548 of 2009 in respect of M/s. Wipro Ltd., the Commissioner while invoking the extended period of limitation held that the activity undertaken by the assessee was never brought to the notice of the department and it came to light only on detailed investigation after the perusal of the Agreements. It is also held that mere filing of ST-3 returns and payment of Service Tax without disclosing the actual nature of other activities undertaken by them does not negate the fact that the relevant activities undertaken by them were suppressed. Per contra, the submission of the learned Sr. Counsel that the appellants had submitted their Trial Balance on 31.03.2005 and as on 30.11.2005 vide letter dated 12.12.2005 emphatically had stated that the appellant had claimed exemption on infrastructure management services cannot be ignored. It is also submitted that the appellant was not paying Service Tax on the above services was very well known to the Department as seen from the audit report dated 31.03.2004 which was followed by a detailed explanation vide their letter dated 19.04.2004. Therefore, the show-cause notice....