TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (5) TMI 579
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....dicating Authority has been upheld. However, the penalty of Section 76 of the Finance Act, 1994, has been reduced to Rs.2,06,393/-. Still being aggrieved the appellant is before this Tribunal. 2. The facts in brief relevant for the present adjudication are as follows: The appellant is engaged in manufacture of writing and printing papers. Appellants have also rented buses vide agreements with various persons, who were engaged in providing bus services for the factory employees and school going children on various routes as per the terms and conditions of those agreements which were executed during the period from December, 2015 to June, 2017. 3. Department observed that the appellant was liable to pay service tax under Revers....
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....Charge Mechanism Notification No.30/2012 dated 20.06.2012 was objected. It is held in the said decision as follows: Foremost we have perused the said notification. It recites as follows: "In exercise of the said powers conferred by the Section 68(2) of the Finance Act, 1994 (as amended), the Notification No. 30/2012-ST dated 20.06.2012 (as amended from time to time) has been issued by the Central Government which has become effective w.e.f. 01.07.2012. Vide said notification, interalia, following service has been notified in respect of which a recipient of Service has to pay the applicable Service Tax. "The taxable services provided or agreed to be provided by way of renting of a motor vehicle designed to carry pa....
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....tourism, conducted tour, charter or hire; or (c) Ropeway, cable car or aerial tramway; 8.4 We have also looked into the definition of contract carriage as given under section 2 (7) in The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988: (7) "contract carriage" means a motor vehicle which carries a passenger or passengers for hire or reward and is engaged under a contract, whether expressed or implied, for the use of such vehicle as a whole for the carriage of passengers mentioned therein and entered into by a person with a holder of a permit in relation to such vehicle or any person authorized by him in this behalf on a fixed or an agreed rate or sum - (a) on a time basis, whether or not with reference to any route or distance;....
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....oner of Central Excise Kanpur reported as 2018(10) GSTL 288 (All.) is not applicable to the fact and circumstances of the present case: the activity in the present case not being rent a cab service. It is not even precisely, 'hire' due to terms and conditions of the agreement between the appellant with the tour operator. We rather draw our support from the decision of this tribunal, in the case of M/s Rattanindia Power Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Custom, Central Excise and CGST Delhi reported as 2022 (65) GSTL 122 (Tri.- Del.) It was held that for the period from 28.03.2014 till 10.07.2014 the activity was exempted through Clause 23(b) of Mega Exemption Notification No. 25/2012 dated 20.06.2012. From the record we further note that said Notifi....
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....ntrastate transportation passengers Circular No. 334/13/2009-TRU, dated 6- 7-2009 clarified the scope of said notification as under: - "6.1 Private bus operators, who operate bus on specific interstate or intrastate routes, are required to pay service tax as they ply their buses having 'contract carriage permits' and thus fall within the definition of tour operators. On the other hand the State Undertakings run buses, which run on the same route carrying passengers, are not subjected to service tax as these buses bear 'stage carriage permit'. In order to bring parity between the two, the services provided by the tour operators undertaking point to point transportation of passengers in a vehicle bearing contract carriage permit ....
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.... day of April, 2000, at all material times. (2) Refund shall be made of all such service tax which has been collected but which would not have been so collected as if the notification referred to in sub-section (1) had been in force at all material times. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), an application for the claim of refund of service tax shall be made within six months from the date on which the Finance Bill, 2011 receives the assent of the President." 8.10 Thus, by virtue of Section 75 of the Finance Act, 2001 and in view of Notification No. 20/2009-S.T., dated 7th July, 2009, no Service tax is leviable in respect of the amount paid by the appellants by carrying the....