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2024 (5) TMI 275 - AT - Service TaxLevy of service tax - Auction of abandoned imported goods by the CONCOR - ground rent/storage rendered towards the un-cleared/un-claimed cargo of the importer - Amount accrued to CONCOR under Section 150(2)(d) of the Customs Act 1962 - consideration for the provision of storage and warehousing services or not - HELD THAT - It is agreed with the findings recorded by the Adjudicating Authority in view of the decision of this Tribunal in COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE CUSTOMS AND SERVICE TAX RAIGAD VERSUS M/S. BALMER LAWRIE AND CO LTD. 2015 (11) TMI 902 - CESTAT MUMBAI where it is held the auction charges adjusted towards warehousing charges cannot be considered as receipt of any services and hence not liable to demand of service tax. What emerges from the various decisions is that the issue whether the service tax can be demanded on the sale proceeds of the auction of the abandoned imported goods is no longer res integra and has been decided in favour of the assessee and it has been settled that in the whole transaction no service recipient exists and therefore there is no question of providing any service to any person. There are no reasons to differ from the views consistently taken by the different Benches and therefore the present appeal by the Revenue has no merits and the same is accordingly dismissed - appeal dismissed.
Issues involved:
The issue in this case is whether the amount accrued to CONCOR u/s 150(2)(d) of the Customs Act, 1962 is a consideration for the provision of storage and warehousing services. Summary: The Revenue appealed against the Order-in-Original No. 40/2017- ST dated 31.10.2017, where the Commissioner had dropped the demand of service tax. The appellant, M/s. Container Corporation of India Ltd., was alleged to owe service tax amounting to Rs. 5,12,81,495/- for ground rent/storage rendered towards un-cleared/un-claimed cargo of the importer. The Adjudicating Authority, following a Tribunal decision, dropped the service tax demand. The issue revolved around whether the amount accrued to CONCOR u/s 150(2)(d) of the Customs Act, 1962 constituted consideration for storage and warehousing services. The Adjudicating Authority's decision was supported by a Tribunal judgment in Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. The judgment emphasized that in the auction of abandoned imported goods, no service recipient existed, thus no service was provided. The auction proceeds were not considered as payment for storage and warehousing services, as they were sale proceeds subject to Sales Tax. The surplus amount retained by the custodian was not in the nature of storage and warehousing service. Various legal provisions and circulars were referenced to support this stance, including Sections 48 and 150 of the Customs Act, 1962, and relevant notifications exempting certain transactions from Service Tax. The appellant's counsel cited decisions such as Mysore Sales International Ltd. and India Gateway Terminal (P) Ltd. to support the argument that no service tax was leviable in such cases. These decisions reiterated that in transactions involving abandoned cargo, no service was rendered to any person, thus no service tax was sustainable. The judgment concluded that the issue of demanding service tax on auction proceeds of abandoned imported goods had been settled in favor of the assessee, as no service recipient existed in the entire transaction. Consequently, the Revenue's appeal was dismissed for lacking merit. The judgment was pronounced on 30th April, 2024.
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