CUSTOM EXCISE & SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, MADRAS
MS. JYOTI BALASUNDARAM, J.
Commissioner of Central Excise, Trichy -Appellant
Versus
Sri Rama Vilas Service Ltd. -Respondent
FINAL ORDER NO. 543 OF 2011 MISC. ORDER NO. 192 OF 2011 APPEAL NO. E/660 OF 2010 CROSS OBJECTION NO. E/CO/6 OF 2011
Decided On : 26-04-2011
Advocates Appeared:
Ms. Indira Sisupal,M. Kannan
ORDER
1. The Revenue is aggrieved by the extension of credit of service tax paid by the assessees, who are manufacturers of parts of motor vehicles, for gardeners and helpers.
2. I have heard both sides. The learned counsel for the assessees has not established as to how gardening has a nexus with the activity of the business of the assessees, namely that of manufacture of motor vehicle parts. The Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the case of CCE, Nagpur v. Ultratech Cement Ltd. - 2010 (20) S.T.R. 577 (Bom.) 2010 (260) E.L.T. 369 (Bom.) has held that credit is admissible of tax paid on services which have a nexus with the activity of the business of the assessee. The gardening services have not been established to have any connection or nexus with the activity of the business of the assessees, who are manufacturers of motor vehicle parts. As regards penalty, the case of the Revenue is that penalty is justified as during the period from April to November 2008, the assessees had not disclosed that they were availing credit from ineligible gardener service in their service tax credit/debit entry register filed along with the monthly ER-I return but wherein it was only mentioned as credit taken on security services. However, since the period of demand ranges from April 2008 to July 2009 and since the assessees have clearly shown that they are availing CENVAT credit on gardener service from December 2008, penalty is reduced to Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees twenty thousand only).
3. The appeal of the Revenue is thus partly allowed as above.
4. Cross-objection is only in the nature of comments upon/reply to the Revenue’s appeal and is therefore dismissed.
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