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2015 (12) TMI 415 - AT - Service TaxDemand of service tax - Renting of Immovable Property service and Leasing of Vehicles - held that:- There is no evidence that the property which appellant leased was further (sub) leased by it to its group companies/ employees. The appellant had repeatedly stated that the properties leased by it were used by it for providing services to its group companies and for such services they charged their group companies on which it paid service tax. In these circumstances, it does not come out at all that the appellant leased or sub-leased any immovable properties to its group companies/employees. In the Show Cause Notice or in the impugned order, no evidence that the appellant gave any premises on rent/lease has been mentioned. The appellant has shown that it took the premises on lease and therefore was a recipient of renting of immovable property service and not a provider thereof. The onus to establish that the appellant provided renting of immovable property service is on Revenue and as is evident from the paragraphs 38.4 and 38.7 quoted above, such onus has not been discharged by Revenue. Therefore, the question of levying service tax under “Renting of Immovable Properties” service does not arise. For levying of service tax under reverse charge mechanism, Revenue has to first identify the taxable service received from abroad for which payment was made in foreign currency, which, as seen from the paragraphs of the impugned order quoted above, has not been done at all. This is clearly fatal. It can be nobody’s case that any amount spent in foreign exchange is liable to service tax under reverse charge mechanism; such expenses have to be shown to be related to import of taxable service. Even so, the appellant has on its part stated that the expenditure relating to purchase of foreign exchange, school fees for American Embassy School, training and development on foreign locations, travel arrangement for foreign expatriates and employee benefits are not liable to service tax for the reasons given in their submissions and recorded earlier in para 3 and only foreign exchange expenses relating to tele-communication service and management consultant service were liable to service tax which it has paid along with interest. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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