TMI Blog2013 (12) TMI 912X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... amount of duty as pre-deposit – upon such submission stay would be granted till the disposal – Partial stay granted. - ST/201/10 - Stay Order No. S/421/2013-WZB/C-I(CSTB) - Dated:- 3-4-2013 - P R Chandrasekharan And Anil Choudhary, JJ. For the Appellant : Mr Prasad Paranajpe, Adv. For the Respondent : Mr Rakesh Goyal, Addl. Comm. (AR) PER : P R Chandrasekharan The appeal and say application are directed against Order-in-Revision No. 05/ST/2010 Dated 23-3-2010 passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise, Nashik. 2. The appellant M/s.Lawrence Travels, Nashik, entered into agreements with various corporate in Nashik such as Glaxo Smithkline Ltd., Siemens Ltd., VIP Industries Ltd., and VTC Ltd. for transport of the company ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ting tours in a tourist vehicle covered by a permit granted under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 or the rules made thereunder. The taxable service is defined under section 65 (105) (n) as "any service provided or to be provided to any person, by a tour operator in relation to a tour." The appellant does not undertake any planning, scheduling, organizing or arranging tours so as to come within the definition of the tour operator. They are merely providing transportation of the company's employees from their residences to their offices and back. Therefore, they are not liable to service tax under the category of tour operator during the impugned period. He submits that in a similar case pertaining to M/s Moharir Travels, the Tribunal vide order ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rtation of employees of a company under agreement and collecting charges on basis of rates fixed per kilometer held that the service could be liable to tax under tour operators service and accordingly directed the appellant therein to make pre-deposit of the service tax during the normal period of limitation. The hon'ble High Court of Madras in the case of Sri Pandyan Travels [2006(3) STR 151] had held that transportation using contract carriages would come within the purview of tour operator services' and upheld the levy of service tax following the decision of the Division Bench decision in the case of Secy., Federation of Bus-operators Association of Tamil Nadu [2001 (134) ELT 618 (Mad.)]. He also submits that in the instant case, the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Bus-operators of Tamil Nadu case support the proposition that even if the tour is undertaken in a stage carriage or contract carriage, service tax levy would be attracted under tour operators service. The reliance placed by the appellant on the Moharir Travels case does not help because there was a difference of opinion between two members which was referred to a third member and by a majority decision, the appellant was directed to make the pre-deposit at the interim stage. The hon'ble Bombay High Court, did not consider the case on merits and pass any judgment on merits but directed the Tribunal to decide the case without insisting on any pre-deposit only on the ground that there was a difference of opinion between the members. Therefore ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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