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2014 (12) TMI 43 - AT - Service TaxChartered accountants Services or Management consultancy Services - Whether the appellant is covered under the category of Management Consultancy Services for the services provided by him - Held that:- The appellant is a practicing Chartered accountant and has been registered with the authorities as such. We find that during the period prior to 1.8.2002, the Chartered Accountant services were liable to be taxed and Notification No. 59/98-ST dtd 16.8.1998 specifically exempted the taxable services provided by the practicing Chartered Accountant or a Company Secretary or a Cost Accountant; services which are rendered to a client other than taxable services which were enumerated in the said Notification. In our considered view, the interpretation put forth by the appellant of the said notification are acceptable, as the services which are in question in this case are not covered under the said Notification 59/98-ST till 1.8.2002. The Tribunal has been holding that only services in the nature of providing consultancy or advices for improving the Management of a business entity only will be covered by the definition and not executory type of responsibilities of management got done through another agency. For example collection of bad debts is a responsibility of a Management. If somebody is engaged for collecting bad debts the person engaged cannot be considered to be providing Management or Business Consultancy Services. Though the definition at Section 65(65) includes any service in connection with management of any organization, the scope of the definition gets restricted to services in relation to consultancy as is evident from the name given to the service and commercial understanding of the expression ‘Management or Business Consultancy’. Impugned orders are unsustainable and liable to set aside and we do so - Following decision of Sridhar & Santhanam [2008 (12) TMI 104 - CESTAT CHENNAI] - Decided in favour of assessee. Export of services - Held that:- Appellant has been taking a consistent plea before the lower authorities that the services rendered by them are in respect of the clients situated abroad are in the form of export of services. The said plea of the appellant was supported by documentary evidence of receipt of the amounts for consideration by the appellant’s bank in freely convertible foreign exchange and credited to the appellant s account in Indian Rupees. One such example which we find is in respect of an amount received by Union Bank of India and credited to the appellants account, was as per the direction of Netwest Bank which indicated a credit of amount in Pounds and converted into Indian Rupee, is sent to account of appellant in Union Bank of India. Services were rendered by the appellant to a person or a client situated abroad, in itself qualifies as export of service and the export of services are not taxable. In our considered view, appellant has made out a strong case in his favour in respect of non payment of service tax on the services which are exported - Decided in favour of assessee.
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