2018 (10) TMI 2001 - AT - Service Tax

Taxable service or not - prime contention of the appellant is that Industrial Effluent transported by them are not goods and therefore no service Tax can be charged under the head of Transportation of Goods other than Water through pipeline or other conduit - HELD THAT - The decision of Tribunal in case of M/S GUJARAT STATE FERTILIZERS CHEMICALS LTD. VERSUS CCE VADODARA 2014 (7) TMI 893 - CESTAT AHMEDABAD examines the identical issue and held in favour of appellant. The said decision has not been challenged and Revenue and Commissioner (Appeals) has dropped demand of subsequent period following the said decision. Following the decision of Tribunal in case of GSFC, the demand is set aside and appeal is allowed.

Summary

Issues: Appeal against remand of Service Tax and imposition of penalties for transportation of waste effluent as a taxable service under "Transportation of Goods other than Water through pipeline or other conduit."

Analysis:
1. Issue of Taxable Service: The appellant, engaged in transporting industrial effluent, contested the demand of Service Tax under "Transportation of Goods other than Water through pipeline or other conduit" service. The appellant argued that industrial effluent cannot be classified as goods, citing the Tribunal's decision in the case of GUJARAT STATE FERTILIZERS & CHEMICALS LTD. VS C.C.E., VADODARA-2015 and ONGC. The appellant highlighted that the decisions were accepted by the Revenue, and the demand was dropped for subsequent periods. On the other hand, the Revenue argued that even if effluents lack commercial value, they still qualify as goods.

2. Judicial Analysis: The Tribunal examined the submissions and focused on determining whether the service provided by the appellant constituted a taxable service. The Tribunal noted that the issue revolved around whether industrial effluent transported by the appellant could be considered goods for the purpose of levying Service Tax under the specified category. Referring to the precedent set by the Tribunal in the case of GSFC, where a similar issue was decided in favor of the appellant, the Tribunal found that the appellant's argument was valid. The Tribunal observed that the decision in the GSFC case remained unchallenged, leading to the subsequent dropping of demands by the Revenue and the Commissioner (Appeals) in line with that decision.

3. Decision: Based on the precedent established in the GSFC case and considering the arguments presented, the Tribunal set aside the demand for Service Tax, ultimately allowing the appeal filed by the appellant. The judgment was pronounced in the open court on 09.10.2018, concluding the matter in favor of the appellant.