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TMI Blog2018 (2) TMI 1263X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nce recorded to the contrary, it is to be considered that timber now under considerations is wholly or partly out of spontaneously grown trees and not all are product of deliberate cultivation due to human agency or effort, that income cannot be treated as agricultural income. The exemption available to GTA service for transport of “agricultural produce” cannot cover the transport of cut wood of trees - appeal allowed - decided in favor of Revenue. - Service Tax Appeal No. 50164/2016-DB - Final Orders No. 50665/2018 - Dated:- 19-2-2018 - Hon ble Shri S. K. Mohanty, Member ( Judicial ) And Hon ble Shri B. Ravichandran, Member ( Technical ) Shri A.K. Singh, AR for the appellant Shri M. Karthikeyan, Shri S. Jai Kumar, Shri Kar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oods Transport Agency by way of transport in a goods carriage of agricultural produce is exempt from payment of service tax. Timber logs transported in the present case are not agricultural produce. (b) Agricultural produce is defined under Section 65 B to mean that any produce of agriculture on which either no further processing is done or such processing is done as is usually done by the cultivator or producer which does not alter its essential characteristics but makes it marketable for primary market . In the present case, the traders, who provide eucalyptus /poplar trees cut and sold by the owners, further processed them by cutting, pruning, debarking and as such, these cannot be considered as covered by the term agricultural ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ricultural produce in common parlance as well as in other enactments, ld. Counsel submitted that the terms plant and tree are not defined under Finance Act, 1994. Tree is nothing but a perennial plant. The timber logs from eucalyptus/poplar trees should be considered as product of plants and agricultural produce in terms of Section 65B. The ld. Counsel submitted that the term agriculture is only defined in inclusive terms. An activity requiring human skill and labour on the land will make the process agriculture and the person using the skill agriculturist . The ld. Counsel contended that the term agricultural produce is to be construed in its widest sense to include all things whatsoever that are grown on the land using human ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ispute was not focused on this crucial aspect. Rather more emphasis is given only on processes undertaken on wood logs. 7. The case laws relied upon were on the same presumption that these wood arising out of agricultural cultivation of plants. As we have already noted the trees cannot be equated straight away to plants . Both the terms have certainly distinct, identifiable connotation. In fact, the reference made by the impugned order to the decisions of the Hon ble Kolkata High Court in Kanan Devan Hills Pvt. Ltd. - 1997 2000 IRT 453 Kolkata was specific to trees planted and nurtured by manual labor and trees which are not spontaneous production will be included in the scope of agricultural income. As noted earlier, it is not esta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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