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2013 (12) TMI 440

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..... s of their client from where services were rendered. M/s. HDFC Bank, the client, charged the appellant rentals for the area occupied by the appellant on a monthly basis. At the end of the month, they raised debit notes on the appellant at the appellant's registered office at Chandivli, Mumbai. The said debit notes contained an annexure wherein details of the service rendered, monthly licence fees charged and the service tax amounts were indicated. The appellant availed CENVAT credit of the service tax paid on the monthly rentals charged on them by M/s. HDFC Bank Ltd. by treating the same as 'input service'. The department was of the view that the appellant was not eligible for the CENVAT credit on two grounds. Firstly, the debit notes conta .....

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..... e debit notes issued by M/s. HDFC Bank Ltd. are serially numbered which is indicated as reference number. It also indicates name and address of the service provider, the service tax registration number of the bank and the covering letter indicates the amount of service tax payable towards rentals and the period thereof and is duly signed by the authorized signatory of the service provider. In the annexure to the said debit notes, details of the service provided are indicated location-wise and the agreement which covers the service, the monthly licence fees charged and the service tax payable. Thus, all the particulars required under Rule 4A of the Service tax Rules, 1994 are reflected in the debit notes. Therefore, the same is a valid docum .....

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..... but the only argument is that the particulars are not contained in the same page but are provided in the annexures. Neither the Service Tax Rules, 1994 nor the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 envisage or prescribe that the invoice/bill/challan issued should contain all the information in one page only. It only prescribes the particulars which are required to be specified. So long as the particulars are specified in one page or in several pages, it does not make any difference. Accordingly he contends that the debit notes issued by HDFC Bank Ltd. are valid documents on the strength of which the appellant has rightfully taken the credit. 3.2 As regards the contention of the Revenue that the appellant should have registered the individual premises .....

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..... he Revenue, on the other hand, strongly refutes the contentions of the appellant. Rule 9 of the CENVAT Credit Rules prescribes only invoice, bill or challan as document on the strength of which credit can be taken. 'Debit Note' is not a 'prescribed document' and therefore, availment on the strength of debit note is not in accordance with law. He relies on the decision of the Tribunal in the case of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Indore 2010 (20) STR 609 (Tri.-Del.) wherein it has been held that denial of credit on the strength of debit notes cannot be regarded as incorrect in law. The learned Commissioner (AR) further argues that each and every premise from where service is rendered is required to be regis .....

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..... e the particulars which should be contained in the document. These particulars are, namely and, address of the service provider, service tax registration number, name and address of the service recipient, description of the service rendered and the value thereof and the service tax paid. If this information is available in any document, the same would constitute a valid document for the purpose of availing CENVAT credit. In the instant case, there is no dispute that this information is not available. It is also not the contention of the Revenue that the appellant did not receive the 'input service' and consumed the same in or in relation to the provision of 'output service'. The only objection raised is that the information provided/contain .....

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..... ained centralized registration accordingly at the relevant time. All the invoices for the input services were received and also addressed to the registered office of the appellant. In view of the explicit provision in law for centralised registration, the denial of CENVAT credit on the ground that individual premises from where service is rendered were not registered, is clearly unsustainable. 7. In the light of the foregoing, we hold that the impugned demands against the appellant are unsustainable in law and consequently the penal proceedings are also not sustainable. Thus, the appeal is allowed with consequential relief, if any, in accordance with law. The stay petition and the cross-objection are also disposed of. (Dictated in Court)< .....

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