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2006 (5) TMI 26

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..... t of India. They carry on the activity of testing various instruments and collect only certain charges. The Revenue has proceeded against them to levy service tax under the heading 'consulting engineer'. The appellants contend that no activity of consulting engineer is carried out by them in terms of its definition appearing in Section 65(13) of Finance Act. No professional engineering advice directly or indirectly is rendered nor consultancy or technical assistance in any manner is rendered to their clients in one or more disciplines of engineering. They are merely testing the instruments to find out its working in terms of several specifications and such activity is not in the nature of consulting engineer. 2. The learned Couns .....

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..... nted out that penalty was not be imposed in the present facts and circumstances of the case. He also referred to the judgment of State of Haryana v. Goodyear Ltd. reported in 1991 (76) STC 72 (S.C.) and State of Orissa v. Sudhansu Sekhar Misra reported in AIR 1968 SC 647 on the plea that a precedent is binding for what it decides and not what. logically or consequentially flowing from it. It is his submissions that the ratio of the judgment rendered in the context of a company functioning as 'consulting engineer' cannot be applied to a society. It is working on non-profit basis under the Ministry of Power, Government of India. Therefore, he pointed out that Revenue reliance on Karnataka High Court judgment rendered in the case of Ta .....

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..... echnical assistance is furnished. The instruments are tested and test reports are furnished. Therefore, the plea raised by the Counsel that they were not covered in the category of 'consulting engineer' is required to be upheld. We notice that this very issue was considered by the Madras Bench in the case of CCE v. MRF (supra) and it was held that services rendered in the nature of Scientific and Technical Consultancy Services would not come within the nature of 'Consulting Engineer Services' as claimed by Revenue. The ratio of Chennai Telephones (supra) also applies to the present case, as in that case, it was held that leased circuit to telephone users is different from' telephone service'. The Board Circular in .....

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