TMI Blog2016 (3) TMI 164X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... activity undertaken, the services cannot be considered as tour operator service. - the appellant herein has not planned, scheduled or organized tours for their passengers. - the appellant is not covered under the category of “tours operator service”. - Decided in favor of assessee. - ST/375/2011-Mum - Final Order No. A/3480/2015-WZB/STB - Dated:- 21-10-2015 - Shri M.V. Ravindran, Member (J) and C.J. Mathew, Member (T) Shri J.H. Motwani, with Ms. Divya Jaswant, Advocates, for the Appellant. Shri S.R. Nair, E.O. (AR), for the Respondent. ORDER [Order per : M.V. Ravindran, Member (J)]. - This appeal is directed against order-in-appeal No. M-I/AV/102/2011, dated 18-2-2011. 2. Filtering out the unnecessary details, t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rranging tours. It is his submission that they offer a particular package to their customers and the customers take the offer and decide when they would like to travel and accordingly book the tickets. He would submit that in order to get cover under tour operator services the service provider has to plan, organize, schedule and arrange the tours. It is his submission that the entire Jet Escapes package was modelled to increase their revenue and in the form of sale of flight tickets to their customers. It is his submission that the passenger is given the facilities of transportation, stay and sight seeing as package tour. Appellant discharged the hotel bills, etc., directly though the hotel booking accommodation is not done by the appel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... their office or through its agents help their customers to plan and schedule their holiday to a specific destination and it would fall under the definition of tour operator services , which covers the activity of planning, scheduling, organizing or arranging tours. It is also his submission that the appellant s activity either directly or indirectly definitely includes planning, scheduling, organizing or arranging tour to their customers. He would submit that appellant themselves had submitted that the copy of the agreement entered into by them with Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. which clearly indicates that it is the appellant who was entered into contract with the Hotels Group for the arrangement of sight seeing or transport etc. for the passeng ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... riage permit, granted under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988) or the rules made thereunder; 6.1 It can be seen from the above reproduced definition that the said definition would cover a person who is engaged in the business of planning, scheduling, organizing or arranging tours and who is engaged in the business of operating tours in tourist vehicle or a contract carriage. As already produced herein above, appellant is operating airlines which undertakes transportation of passengers by air. In order to enhance their business of selling airline tickets, appellant had offered Jet Escapes Packages to their passengers for a specified destination. On perusal of Jet Escapes Package details as downloaded from website, we find tha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on engaged in the business of operating tour in a tourist vehicle covered by a permit granted under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. (ii) the position from 10-9-2004 onwards : persons who are engaged in the business of planning, scheduling, organizing or arranging tours by any mode of transport and includes any person engaged in the business of operating tours in a tourist vehicle. 6.2 From the records we find that the assessees are only renting their vehicles. We also find that the department could not bring out on record that the assessees are engaged in the business of planning, scheduling, organizing or arranging tours. In these circumstances, the assessees cannot be termed as tour operators. Therefore, the demands of Service ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by any mode of transport. The clarification issued by the Board on budget changes relating to tour operator service reads as follows :- 20. Extension of tour operator service to package tour operators using different modes of transport : At present, tour operator service covers package tour operators also. However, under the present definition, such package tours attract service tax only if such tours involve modes of transport other than road (say a combination of air-rail-cab travel). The definition of tour operator has been suitably expanded. While the existing levy on tour operators engaged in operating tours in tourist vehicles remains as such, in case of a package tour (which are planned, scheduled, organized or arranged by t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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