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2015 (9) TMI 1037

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..... ommissioner Vs. Apar Industries - [2013 (2) TMI 276 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT]. Merely because the courier service was utilized within the country it cannot be assumed that the services does not have nexus with output services. - Further there is no dispute that these input services were received by the appellant. I hold that the appellants are eligible for refund of ₹ 6,670/- towards service tax paid on courier services. According to appellants Management, Maintenance & Repair Service was received for maintaining its' business premises from where the activities of output service are carried out. Following the ratio laid in the judgment [2014 (1) TMI 664 - CESTAT NEW DELHI] I find that appellants are entitled to credit of ₹ 37,048/- for Management, Maintenance & Repair Service. Appellant has availed the services of man-power recruitment and supply agency's service for hiring nurses for its' employees and also for hiring administrative and support staff which is required for carrying out its' day to day business activities. Therefore I find that the denial of refund on Manpower Recruitment Service, is unjustified. The same has to be allowed. The security service .....

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..... the Appellant : Ms Sukriti Das, Adv For the Respondent : Shri R K Gupta, DR ORDER Per Sulekha Beevi The appellants are aggrieved by the rejection of refund claim of Cenvat Credit. 2. The appellants are engaged in providing 'Business Auxiliary Service' to their overseas clients. They are also availing Cenvat Credit of Service Tax paid on input services used for exporting BAS Services. The appellants filed refund claim of ₹ 2,44,78,648/- for the period October 2010 to December 2010. A Show Cause Notice was issued proposing to disallow claim of ₹ 54,84,068/-. which finalized by the order passed confirming the disallowance of refund claim. Aggrieved the appellants approached the first appellate authority who allowed part of the claim and rejected the refund claim of ₹ 7,52,975/-. Hence this appeal. 3. At the outset is has to be stated that on behalf of the appellants it was submitted that claim of an amount of ₹ 4381/- as per invoices at Serial No. 23, 24 25 of Annexure-2 is withdrawn and the relief sought in this appeal is confined to ₹ 7,48,594/- only. 4. The learned Counsel for appellants urged that the refund has be .....

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..... vice has been denied for the reason that these were used for dispatch within India where as appellant is engaged in export of services. That therefore these services has no nexus with the output services. The appellants submitted that courier services are used for dispatch of the appellants documents to various offices, units etc. which are necessary for running the day to day business of the appellant. The important documents have to reach the destination in time for which it is not possible to hand deliver them, and that these services are extremely necessary for the business of the appellant. They also relied upon the judgments rendered in CCE, Vapi Vs. Apar Industries - 2010 (20) S.T.R. 624 (Tri.-Ahmd.) which was affirmed in Commissioner Vs. Apar Industries - 2011 (23) S.T.R. J194 (Guj.). The learned DR defended the impugned order stating that the services being used within the country are not available for credit as the appellants are engaged in export of services. To carry out the domain activity of exports, the appellants may require to send documents and such other to Offices, units within the country. Merely because the courier service was utilized within the country it ca .....

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..... s a service in the inclusive part of the definition of input services under activities related to business. The appellant has availed the services of man-power recruitment and supply agency's service for hiring nurses for its' employees and also for hiring administrative and support staff which is required for carrying out its' day to day business activities. Therefore I find that the denial of refund on Manpower Recruitment Service, is unjustified. The same has to be allowed. 8. The claim of ₹ 37,548/- on Security Agency Services has been rejected for the reason that it has no nexus with output service. The appellants contended that the issue is covered by the judgments in Utopia India Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Service Tax - 2011 (23) STR 25 (Tri.-Bang.). According to appellants being a Call Centre and BPO, their employees have to work and also leave office at odd hours. The security service was used to provide safety to employees. The Commissioner (Appeals) has rejected the claim holding that the invoices show security guard for pickup and drop of employees and has no nexus with output service. Applying the ratio laid in the above judgment I am of the vie .....

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..... summits do help the Company to promote and develop its' business. The credit and refund denied on these services in my view, is unjustified. The same is allowed. 13. The appellants were denied refund of ₹ 6,180/- on Legal Consultancy Services holding that these services have no nexus with the output services. Appellants submitted that the service was utilized for drafting reply and appeal papers. The First appellate authority has held that to file an appeal is not a mandatory requirement under law and therefore has no nexus with the output service. The rejection of claim on the ground that filing of appeal or reply is not mandatory requirement is baseless. Legal consultancy services are indispensable for any business to satisfy proper compliance of legal its' requirements. Therefore I hold appellants are eligible for refund of credit on these services. 14. Both the authorities below have taken the view that Chartered Accountancy Services do not qualify as input services. On behalf of the appellants it is submitted that these services were utilized for compliance of industrial and Labour Laws and also for statutory compliances under Income Tax Act, 1961 and Compa .....

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..... ces under separate head. The appellants submit that the invoices issued by Ritzy Securities Consultants Ltd. (Security Services) contain the PAN and Service Tax No., and therefore denial of claim on this ground is incorrect. Further in the case of some invoices which did not contain the Registration No. of service provider, the appellant has cured the defect by providing the details as Annexure 21. It is also their case that the allegation in SCN was with regard denial of credit was for only three invoices. It has been settled in a catena of decisions that non-mentioning of registration number of the service provider is only a procedural lapse and Credit cannot be denied on account of procedural lapse when substantive entitlement itself is not disputed. Further, the proviso to sub clause (2) of Rule 9 of Cenvat Credit Rules, provide that if documents do not contain full particulars the DC/AC has powers to condone the defects after satisfying whether properly accounted. In view thereof, the rejection of claim for the defects alleged in invoices is incorrect. The claim of credit on disputed invoices for those services which are eligible as input services are allowed. 16. From th .....

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