9911796707
TMI Blog2023 (4) TMI 1195X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ur industries namely agriculture, printing, textile processing and education. Therefore, the appellant being textile industry, it is covered under the category textile processing in the notification. The liaising with customers and getting export orders is itself a procurement of service within the meaning of (a) under Notification No. 14/2004 and the same would also amount to provision of service on behalf of the client as per (c) of the above Notification. The findings arrived at by the lower authority that the activities of the foreign agents would not amount to any taxable service under Notification No. 14/2004, cannot be agreed upon. The denial of the benefit of exemption under Notification No. 14/2004 by the lower authori ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 09.2004, but however, the Adjudicating Authority i.e., the Commissioner of Service Tax, Chennai, having not accepted the contentions of the appellant, has vide impugned Order-in-Original No. 12/2013 dated 25.02.2013 confirmed the demands proposed against the appellant and it is against this order that the present appeal has been filed by the appellant before this forum. 3. Heard Shri M.N. Bharathi, Learned Advocate for the appellant and Smt. K. Komathi, Learned Additional Commissioner for the respondent. 4. We have perused the order of the lower authority and the documents placed on record; we have also gone through the orders relied upon during the course of arguments. 5. After hearing both sides, we find that the only issue to be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... captured. From this, we find that the appellants therein were the manufacturers-exporters and in order to procure orders, they engaged overseas commission agents, to whom commission was paid, and consequently, they had claimed exemption relying upon Notification No. 14/2004 (supra). The authorities appear to have denied the exemption, against which the said appeal was filed before the Tribunal. After considering the rival contentions, this Bench has held as under: - 6.1 We have carefully considered the submissions of both sides and also examined the records. The assessees filed appeals contesting the service tax demanded under reverse charge on the commission paid to the overseas agents for export of finished goods. The Revenue filed a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in relation to the business auxiliary service, insofar as it relates to, - (a) procurement of goods or services, which are inputs for the client; (b) production or processing of goods for, on behalf, of the client; (c) provision of service on behalf of the client; or (d) a service incidental or auxiliary to any activity specified in (a) to (c) above. and provided in relation to agriculture, printing, textile processing or education, from the whole of service tax leviable thereon under section 66 of the said Finance Act. 6.2 The lower authorities denied the exemption merely on the ground that the said services are not used for textile processing. On careful reading of the above notification, it is evident that s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... levant to state that appellants being the exporter of textile made ups as per the Foreign Trade Policy are not expected to export the taxes. Appellants pleaded that there was no suppression of facts with deliberate intention to evade payment of service tax. As payment of service tax by the recipients was under dispute for a long period till that was settled by the decision of Apex Court in the case of UOI v. Indian National Shipowners Association - 2011 (21) S.T.R. 3 (S.C.) there was no deliberate intention to make suppression of facts. Appellants were under bona fide belief that as per the EXIM Policy at para 2.482 of the Policy Period 2009-10 issued by Notification No. 1/(RE/2008)/2004-2009 dated 11-4-2008 all goods and services exported ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... duction or processing of goods for, or on behalf of, the client; (c) provision of service on behalf of the client; or (d) a service incidental or auxiliary to any activity specified in (a) to (c) above. 9.2 The scope of the services rendered by the foreign agents in the case on hand, as observed by the Adjudicating Authority at paragraph 2.0 of the impugned order, reads as under: - 2.0 .. .. During the course of verification of the details and documents furnished by the assessee, it appeared that the assessee had engaged Agents in foreign countries who book orders, liaison with customers for designing, approval of proofs, co-ordinate with customers, help in providing other sales services for execution of the contract fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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