Judgment

Arijit Pasayat, J.—These four appeals by the Revenue have a common matrix in the judgment of Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, West Zonal Bench at Mumbai (in short ‘the Tribunal’).

2. The factual background leading to the dispute as noted by the Tribunal in essence is as follows :

Pride Foramer (the respondent No. 2 in Civil Appeal Nos. 808-810 of 2004 and sole respondent in Civil Appeal No. 811 of 2004) (hereinafter referred to as the “assessee”) was the owner of oil well drilling rigs and drill ships which it leased out to parties engaged in oil exploration or exploitation. It entered into a contract with the Oil & Natural Gas Commission (in short `ONGC’) in January 1999 for lease to the latter of a jack-up rig of 300 ft depth to be utilized for oil exploration and ­exploitation off the coast of India. The assessee was not originally owner of the rig, and in order to comply with the terms of the contract, purchased in March 1999 the rig Pride Pennsylvania from Pride Global Limited, a company registered in the British Virgina Islands at a price of US $ 17 millions. The rig was being deployed for off sea exploration in accordance with the directions of the hire