CESTAT Chennai Remands Ramco Cements' CENVAT Dispute, Says Actual Nature Of Work Must Be Examined

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai, on 15 October set aside the CENVAT credit demand against Ramco Cements Ltd. and remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority to examine the services contractor-wise and quantify the demand falling within the normal limitation period. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao held that machinery installation, repair and maintenance services cannot be excluded from CENVAT...

CESTAT Kolkata Allows CENVAT Credit On Sales Commission For Goods Sold Through Depots

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Kolkata, has ruled that commission paid to agents for procuring orders, arranging dispatches, and collecting payments for goods sold through a manufacturer's depots is eligible for CENVAT credit where the depot is the place of removal.A Bench comprising Judicial Member R. Muralidhar and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan held that the commission services qualified as input services under Rule 2(l) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004. The...

CENVAT Credit Cannot Be Denied On Works Contract Goods Outside Service Tax Levy: CESTAT Chennai

On 9 October, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Chennai, held that the Explanation to Rule 3 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, does not bar CENVAT credit on duty-paid capital goods transferred under a works contract, as the value of such goods falls outside the service tax levy. A Bench of Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao allowed appeals filed by Toshiba JSW Power Systems Private Limited and set aside the denial of CENVAT...

Bagasse-Generated Electricity Sold To State Utility Not Liable For 6% CENVAT Reversal: CESTAT Mumbai

The Mumbai bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that electricity generated from bagasse and sold to a state electricity authority cannot attract the 6% payment under Rule 6(3) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004.The tribunal observed that “electricity produced from bagasse and sold to electricity authority of State Government cannot be subjected to payment of amount equal to 6% of the value of electricity sold by them under Rule 6(3)”.A Bench comprising...

Karnataka High Court Dismisses Revenue Appeal Against Microsoft India In CENVAT Refund Case

The Karnataka High Court has dismissed the Revenue's appeal against a tribunal order holding that Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd. was entitled to a cash refund of accumulated CENVAT credit on services provided to its overseas entities. A Division Bench of Justice R. Devdas and Justice K. Manmadha Rao was hearing the appeal against the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal's (CESTAT) December 9, 2024 order. The tribunal had held that the services provided by Microsoft India to...

Mandatory Type Testing Charges Includible In Excise Value Of ACSR Conductors: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 23 September held that mandatory type-testing charges collected from a buyer form part of the assessable value of ACSR conductors for central excise purposes. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh upheld the central excise duty demand against Smita Conductors Ltd. on testing charges collected from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. for...

Railway's Own Printed Forms Cannot Attract Excise Duty, As They Cannot Be Sold In The Market: CESTAT Mumbai

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai, has held that railway-specific printed stationery made exclusively for Western Railway's own use was not liable to excise duty because the Revenue failed to establish that the material could be bought and sold in the market.A Bench of Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member M.M. Parthiban set aside the ₹95.93 lakh excise duty demand against the Western Railway Printing Press, along with interest and a penalty...

Free Supply Of Drawings Alone No Ground To Add Their Value To Cabin's Assessable Value: CESTAT Chennai

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai has held that drawings and designs supplied free of cost by customers cannot be added to the assessable value of motor cabins merely because they were supplied free of cost.A bench of Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao observed:“A free supply does not of itself displace the sole consideration condition. It displaces that condition only if it satisfies the conditions stated in Explanation 1...

Partial Write-Offs Require CENVAT Credit Reversal From March 1, 2011: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that a provision for partial write-off of inputs made on or after March 1, 2011 requires immediate reversal of the corresponding CENVAT credit. The credit can be re-availed if the inputs are subsequently used in manufacturing, subject to the assessee establishing such use.Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar rejected GE T&D Ltd.'s appeal against a ₹8.57 lakh demand relating to CENVAT credit on...

Processed Milk Used In Sugar Confectionery Not 'Exempted Final Product' For CENVAT Credit: CESTAT Chennai

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai, has ruled that 'Processed Milk' emerging during the manufacture of sugar confectionery cannot be treated as an exempted final product merely because the milk itself is exempt from excise duty.The court observed, “An intermediate product captively consumed in, or sent to a job worker for, the manufacture of the dutiable final product cannot be equated with an exempted final product independently cleared from the...

CENVAT Credit Available On Depot Clearing And Forwarding Services: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that CENVAT credit is admissible on clearing and forwarding services provided at an assessee's depots. This includes receipt, unloading, storage, handling and loading of cement at depots from where the goods were subsequently sold.The tribunal observed, “Such services have a direct nexus with the appellant's business of manufacture and sale of cement and are eligible input services.” It held that...

CESTAT Delhi Allows ₹6.51 Crore CENVAT Credit To Bharat Aluminium On Coal Supplier's Invoices

The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has recently allowed Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) to claim CENVAT credit of ₹6.51 crore on supplementary invoices issued by South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). The tribunal held that the invoices were eligible for credit because SECL's earlier short-payment of excise duty was not due to fraud, collusion, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts.The Bench comprised Officiating President Dr. Rachna Gupta...