2011 (2) TMI 486 - AT - Service Tax

CENVAT credit on the capital goods - It is not in dispute that the office of BSNL at Madurai and office of BSNL at Kumbakonam both come under same circle - It is a case of procurement by higher formation and supply to the subordinate formation - It is find that there is no dispute about duty-paid nature of the capital goods and receipt and use of the capital goods for the authorized purpose and, therefore, the appellants has validly availed the credit - Therefore, there is no justification for denial of CENVAT credit on the capital goods - The transaction between Madurai office and Kumbakonam office cannot be treated as transaction between two dealers - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues:
Dispute over eligibility of credit on capital goods transferred between different offices of BSNL within the same circle.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Issue of Eligibility of Credit on Capital Goods:
The appeal was against an order revising the decision of the original authority, which had dropped proceedings initiated regarding the eligibility of credit on capital goods. The capital goods in question were procured by one office of BSNL and transferred to another office within the same circle. The dispute centered around the authorization of the document based on which credit was taken.

2. Arguments and Submissions:
The appellant's advocate argued that since the entire Tamilnadu is considered one circle by BSNL, the offices at Madurai and Kumbakonam are part of the same circle. Therefore, the capital goods procured by the Madurai office and transferred to Kumbakonam office were legitimate for credit. On the other hand, the Departmental Representative contended that the Madurai office was not eligible to transfer credit to Kumbakonam office as they obtained registration later, post the procurement of goods.

3. Judgment and Rationale:
After considering the submissions and perusing the records, the Tribunal found that both offices were part of the same circle, and the transfer of capital goods was from a higher formation to a subordinate formation. It was noted that the capital goods were duty-paid and used for authorized purposes without dispute. The Tribunal concluded that the transaction between the offices should not be treated as a transaction between two dealers. Consequently, the Tribunal upheld the appellant's claim for CENVAT credit on the capital goods, setting aside the Commissioner's order and reinstating the original authority's decision.

4. Final Decision:
The appeal was allowed, and consequential relief was granted as per the law. The judgment was dictated and pronounced in open court, affirming the validity of the appellant's availed credit on the capital goods transferred between BSNL offices within the same circle.