2015 (6) TMI 583 - HC - CST, VAT & Sales Tax

Nature of Contract - transfer of property for providing services is involved in the contract or not - whether the services being rendered by the petitioner company are in the nature of works contract or are pure and simple services - joint venture - use of machinery for doing Seismic surveys activity - Held that:- The petitioner is not engaged in drilling work but was only engaged for carrying out seismic survey work. The said work does not fall within the ambit of Section 4(3) of the TVAT Act. The Seismic survey is carried out to investigate the Earth's subterranean structure. There was no transfer of the right to use goods. The equipment of the petitioner contractor remained the equipment and material owned and provided by the contractor. The equipment remained in the control of the petitioner. The petitioner remained in exclusive possession and control of the said equipment and all the resources were supplied by the contractor. - These provisions of the contract clearly indicate that the contractor's equipment remained his equipment solely under his control and even the equipment of the company, if any, given to him did not become his equipment but remained the equipment of the company. Therefore, there was no transfer of right to use goods and the petitioner was only rendering services which are only amenable to tax by the Union of India and not by the State. - Decided in favour of assessee.