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TMI Blog2024 (3) TMI 494X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aid service tax credit and proposed the same to be inadmissible to the appellant. Similar, ineligibility of the said credit was alleged for the period from 2013 to 2016 and also for the period 2017-2018 upto June 2017. Resultantly, vide Show Cause Notice No. 827 dated 02.05.2018, Cenvat Credit of Rs. 1,79,61,711/- during the period from 2013-14 to 2017-18 (upto June 2017) was proposed to be recovered from the appellant alongwith the interest and the proportionate penalties. The said proposal was confirmed initially vide the order-in-original No. 20/18-19 dated 31.10.2018. The appeal against the said order has been rejected vide Order-in-Appeal No. 255/19 dated 11.09.2019. Still being aggrieved, the appellant is before this Tribunal. 2. We have heard Shri D. K. Rana and Shri Akshay Agarwal, Advocates for the appellant and Shri Bhagwat Dyal, Authorized Representative for the Department. 3. Learned Counsel for the appellant has mentioned that the appellant clears the manufactured goods in the domestic as well as in the export market. The export goods are cleared with the term of delivery as free on board (FOB). The invoices raised by the appellant on overseas customers evidences the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ounsel has relied upon various Circulars issued by the Department i.e. the Master Circular No. 97/8/2007-ST dated 23.08.2007 clarifying the points where the sale of good is to be considered to has been undertaken and Circular No. 988/12/2014-CX dated 20.10.2014 clarifying that the place where the sale takes place is the place of removal. 6. It is further submitted that the delivery/export of the goods in the case in hand was on FOB basis. The guidelines issued by international chambers of commerce (Incoterms) were issued in 1936 to standardise and harmonize trade taking place across international borders. As per the Incoterms term 'FOB' indicates that it is the seller's responsibilities to bear all costs for transporting the goods till the port of export and as well as to clear the goods for export. Since exporter exercise the right of disposal of goods till delivery across the ships at the named port of despatch, the said port becomes the place of removal even in terms of incoterms FOB. Learned Counsel has also relied upon the decisions of this Tribunal in the case of Unitech vs. CCE reported as 2018 (4) TMI 760 (Tri. All.) and Tinplate Company of India Limited vs. CCE & ST, 202 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... occurs at the port where the shipping bill is filed by the manufacturer exporter. In the present case, the said place is ICD Garhi harsaru. Hence, the inland haulage charges beyond the said port are the charges beyond the place of removal which are not towards the input services. We therefore hold that the appellant is rightly denied the eligibility to avail and utilize the cenvat credit of service tax paid on said inland haulage charges. Impressing upon, no infirmity in the impugned order under challenge, the appeal is prayed to be dismissed. 10. Having heard the rival contentions, we observe that the question to be adjudicated in the impugned appeal is as follows:- Whether the cenvat credit on service tax paid in respect of Inland haulage charges is covered under the definition of Input Service or not? Foremost, we need to know the definition of 'Input Service', the definition reads as follows:- "Rule 2(1): "Input Service" means any service,- (i) used by a provider of taxable service for providing an output service; or (ii) used by a manufacturer, whether directly or indirectly, in or in relation to the manufacture of final products and clearance of final products upto t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s upto the place of removal entitles the eligibility of availing cenvat credit there upon. 12. In view of these observations, the meaning of place of removal acquires importance to adjudicate the issue framed above. Place of removal has not been defined in Cenvat Credit Rules however Section 4 (3) (C) of Central Excise Act, 1944 defines 'place of removal'. However, Rule 2(t) of Credit Rules allowed import of definition of the terms under Excise Act for interpretation of the terms employed in the Credit Rules. Section 4(3) (c) of Excise Act defines the term place of removal as follows:- "place of removal means- (i) a factory or any other place or premises of production or manufacture of the excisable goods; (ii) a warehouse or any other place or premises wherein the excisable goods have been permitted to be deposited without payment of duty; (iii) a depot, premises of a consignment agent or any other place or premises from where the excisable goods are to be sold after their clearance from the factory from where such goods are removed" 13. Though, subsequent to 11.07.2014, Rule 2(qa) clause of credit rules also define place of removal but the said definition is verbatim of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... versa. If the said Freight Station is away from Sea Port of Loading, the shipper uses to complete customs formalities at such Container Freight Station and uses to arrange to move cargo to port of loading either by rail or road. I further find that these services utilised by the Assessee after granting Let Export Order of the cargo. I find that as per provisions of Rule 2(1) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, the input service is admissible up to the place of removal only. However, in the instant case, the place of removal is port on which Let Export granted but not the Port where goods were loaded on vessel. It is port of Let Export, where ownership of cargo transferred from the exporter (to say the Assessee in the instant case) to the buyer." As the appellant had also impressed upon the concept of the sale, we observe that the said aspect has already been decided by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Ispat Industries Ltd. reported as 2015 (10) TMI 613 (SC), the Hon'ble Apex Court in the said case has examined as under:- "As has been seen in the present case all prices were "ex-works", like the facts in Escorts JCB's case. Goods were cleared from the factory on payment of ..... 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