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2012 (8) TMI 753 - HC - Service TaxClaim of Cenvat Credit on the pipes and valves - assessee sought to obtain advance ruling from AAR on eligibility to avail CENVAT Credit of excise duty paid by it on pipes and valves to the manufacturer, against the Petitioner's output service tax liability under the taxable service category of "transport of goods through pipeline or conduit? AAR rejected the application - Held that:- As the petitioners are Government Companies being subsidiaries of Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. The holding company and each subsidiary company are separate and distinct legal entities and every company has an independent right to file an application before the AAR for pronouncement of an advance ruling on the questions raised in the applications. Section 96A(b)(ii) and (iii) support the case of the petitioners that a joint venture company could be an applicant. Further a resident falling within the class of mentioned in sub-clause (iii) could also maintain an application. The petitioners fall within the ambit of section 96A(b)(iii), therefore, we hold that the petitioners being a step-down subsidiary company of a Government Company are covered within the definition of the "applicant" in terms of section 96A(b) of the Finance Act. The applications filed by the petitioners before the AAR under section 96C were maintainable. As the petitioners and the holding company were separate and distinct legal entities and had independent rights and the AAR does not possess absolute discretionary power. Under section 96D(2) proviso (a) the important words used are, “in the applicant’s case”, which clearly explains that if in the applicants own case any matter is pending or had been decided then the AAR could dismiss the application - The AAR could not reject the applications of the petitioners under its discretionary power as there were no exceptional circumstances, or abuse of the legal process or rendering incompatible decisions concerning the same parties or any anomalous situations would have arisen if the AAR would have pronounced advance ruling. The petitioners had not yet entered into any transaction and the advance ruling had been sought on the proposed activity or service, therefore, the petitioners’ applications were maintainable and the AAR was required to pronounce advance ruling under section 96D of the Finance Act. Even assuming that the question pending before the CESTAT in the matter of holding company and the question raised before AAR by the petitioners were similar, if the AAR pronounces advance ruling on the question raised by the petitioners, then, in our opinion, it will not result in conflicting or incompatible decision between the same parties, as the order of the AAR would be binding only on the petitioners and the tax authorities in view of section 96E of the Finance Act - in favour of assessee.
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