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TMI Blog2008 (11) TMI 163X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .V. MURTHY, TECHNICAL MEMBER R.S. Sarona for the Appellant. [Order per: B.S.V. Murthy, Technical Member.]. - The issue involved in this appeal is whether the 10 buses operated as contract carriage by the respondents are to be charged service tax as a tour operator or not. The Commissioner (Appeals) has relied upon the decision of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras in case of Secretary, Federation of Bus Operators Association of Tamil Nadu v. Union of India 2001 (134) ELT 618/[2007] 6 STT 49 and strangely the same judgment has been relied upon by the revenue to submit that the respondents are liable to pay service tax. 2. No one has appeared on behalf of the respondents. The ld. JDR reiterates the points mentioned in the appea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... icle has to conform to several specifications laid thereunder. The Commissioner (Appeals) has held that unless this requirement is fulfilled, the mere fact that vehicles have been registered, as contract carriage vehicle would not render them to service tax under this service. As already observed above, Commissioner (Appeals) has relied upon Paras 14, 24, 36 of the decision of Hon'ble High Court of Madras where revenue has relied upon Paras 28, 29, 30 and 31 of the same judgment. However, we find that the paragraphs 24, 36 and paras 41 and 42 are relevant to the issue and therefore the same are reproduced below :- "24. However, it must be remembered that in the present case, we are not concerned with the two kind of permits. The question ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be the 'tourist vehicles' within the meaning of section 2(43) of the Motor Vehicles Act and, therefore, they are not liable. Indeed, if the vehicles owned by the petitioners are not the 'tourist vehicles' within the meaning of section 2(43) of the Motor Vehicles Act read with rule 128 of the Rules framed thereunder then, such petitioner would not be required to be registered under the Finance Act. The learned senior counsel for the department very fairly accepted this position. However, he pointed out that it would be for the petitioners to raise their objections before the concerned authorities under the Finance Act and their objections would be decided upon. Therefore, the petitioners are permitted to raise the objections before the conce ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... les Act read with section 82, which are nothing but 'tourist permits', issued for the purpose of promoting the tourism and obviously issued to the tourist vehicles as contemplated under that section. Therefore, there will be no question of entertaining their objections and they will straightaway be covered under section 65(52) of the Finance Act. Such petitions, where the permits are under section 88(9) of the Motor Vehicles Act, would be straightaway liable to be dismissed and are dismissed as such. 42. Even if the petitioners permits are only under section 74 of the Motor Vehicles Act for contract carriage, that would not save the petitioners because what is required is not a 'tourist permit' but a 'user of a tourist vehicle' by the tou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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