TMI Blog2018 (7) TMI 1373X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he issue in both the appeals is common and therefore, the same are taken up together for disposal. 3. Briefly stated the facts of the case are that the Assessee entered into a Conversion Agreement with M/s. Tata Steel Limited for conversion of H.R. Sheets into ETP/FHCRILACQUERED Sheets/Lacquered Printing for Tata Steel Limited(TSL). Show Cause Notices were issued alleging that the assessee is required to pay the Service Tax on all consignments of converted goods sent to the Stockyard/Own Consignment Agent at a place other than Kanpur @ ₹ 250/- per M.T. and in the case of Stockyard/Consignment Agent located in Kanpur @ ₹ 150/- per M.T. 4. The Adjudicating authority confirmed the demand of Service Tax of ₹ 5,73,153.00 and ₹ 16,62,207.00 along with interest and imposed penalties. 5. By the impugned Order the Commissioner (Appeals) set aside the Adjudication Order and allowed the appeal of the assessee. Hence, the Revenue filed the appeals and the assessee also filed Cross Objection. 6. Heard both sides and perused the appeal records. 7. The Learned A.R. for the Revenue reiterates the Grounds of Appeal filed by the Revenue. The Learned A.R. subm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... charges were received on this account were added in the assessable value of the finished goods on which due excise duty was pai9d. Accordingly, the demand of service tax is not justified. Since demand is not there the question of interest and penalty do not arise. On perusal of the Grounds of Appeal we find that the Revenue had reproduced the portion of the Consignment Agent Agreement to establish that the Assessee has acted as Consignment Agent. We have perused the copy of the Invoices placed by the Learned Counsel for the assessee in the compilation. It is seen that the Assessee paid the duty on the Invoice value. We find that the Hon ble Punjab Haryana High Court in the case of Commissioner of Central Excise, Panchkulla Vs. Kulcip Medicines (P) Ltd -2009(14)STR 608 (P H) while dealing with the taxability on clearing and forwarding agent service rejected the appeal filed by the Revenue. The relevant portion of the said decision is reproduced below : 10 . A perusal of the aforesaid Section shows that taxable service has been defined to mean any service provided or to be provided to a client by a clearing and forwarding agent in relation to clearing and forwarding op ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion (sic Tariff Public Notice) clearly shows, as contended by Mr. Bhatt, that for an alloy steel to be considered as stainless steel, it will have to satisfy two conditions i.e. The alloy steel should be known in the trade as stainless steel and further, it should contain 11% chromium as a component of the allow steel. This is clear from the use of the word and . If the intention of the trade notice was to treat the two types of alloy steels as stainless steel, then it would have been made clear by using the word of instead of the word and . 12 . We are further of the view that the circulars issued by the Board are binding and meant for adoption for the purposes of bringing uniformity. In that regard reliance may be placed on the judgments of Hon ble the Supreme Court in the cases of Ranadey Micronutrients v. Collector of Central Excise - 1996 (87) E.L.T. 19 (S.C.) and Paper Products Ltd. v. Commissioner of Central Excise - 1999 (112) E.L.T. 765 (S.C.) = (1999) 7 SCC 84. If the aforesaid principle is applied to the facts of the present case there does not remain any doubt that the circular issued by the Board is to be considered as binding and cannot be deviated even b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssoon was not played in one of the movements of a symphony, it does not cease to be otherwise a part of the orchestra. While forming this view, we have certainly not overlooked the fact that while music can be sometimes taxing, a tax can never be musical. 32. While arriving at this conclusion, we also go by the trade understanding based on sheer common sense, which is often uncommon. Because a buyer buys only rice and not wheat in a grocery shop, which claims to sell wheat and rice , the shop cannot cease to be a shop selling wheat and rice . In the sameway, rendering only forwarding service cannot make the appellant ceases to be Clearing and Forwarding Agent , so as to save him from the tax. Some customers may want only clearing operations, while some forwarding, and others both. The expression clearing and forwarding operations is a compendious expression of nature of services offered any of which will bring the service providers in the tax net of this category. Moreover, in the process of forwarding operations clearance stages may arise such as at octroi posts or subsequent transits. 33. We, do agree that it is the context in which the word and is positioned, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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