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TMI Blog2019 (2) TMI 1081X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ('Factories') where the employees of the Applicant are engaged in manufacturing the Final Products. Further, apart from employees manufacturing Final Products, various managerial service employees also carry out their day to day affairs from the said Factories. The said Factories of the Applicant are situated at remote location in Haryana where public transport is very minimal which hinders transportation of employees to reach the Factories. 3. Accordingly, in order to carry out its business of supply of its Final Product and for efficient functioning of its business as a whole, the Applicant has engaged various contractual service provider who provide transportation services and ensure that employees of the Applicant are able to reach the factories in time for doing their day to day work as scheduled. It is in this regard that the Applicant enters into contract with the said suppliers for hiring buses as well as cars. In this regard, reference is made to sample contract entered between Deep Travels ('Contractor') and the Applicant, both situated in Haryana, for provision of Transportation Services (also referred to as 'Transportation Services') to its employees from various loca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... credit on:- a. GST charged by the Contractor for hiring of buses for transportation of employees? b. GST charged by the Contractor for hiring of cars for transportation of employees? RECORDS OF PERSONAL HEARING - 2ND PROVISOS TO SECTION 98(2) OF CGST/HGST ACT 2017 7. Opportunity for personal hearing was granted to the applicant on 20.06.2018. The party sought adjournment through post. The second personal hearing was held on 10.07.2018, which was attended by Sh. Kishore Kunal, Advocate, on behalf of the applicant. He reiterated the submissions made in their application. He further explained that as they do not take control of the vehicles themselves and that the vehicles remain with the contractor all the time, the services obtained by the applicant do not fall under "rent a cab" services , but under tariff head 996413 i.e." Non scheduled Local bus and coach charter service" @ 18%. They are therefore, eligible to avail ITC on the GST paid for such services. After detailed hearing the application was admitted as the questions raised by the applicant are covered under section 97 (2) (d) of the CGST/HGST Act, 2017. As regard merits the decision was reserved which is being relea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... bserved that the phrase "rent-a-cab" has not been defined in the CGST/HGST Act, 2017. In situations where statutory meaning of any term/phrase has not been provided words, entries and items in taxing statutes must be construed in terms of their commercial or trade understanding, or according to their popular meaning. Resort to rigid interpretation in terms of scientific and technical meanings should be avoided in such circumstances, as has been held by the Hon'ble High Court of Allahabad in the case of Godrej Consumer Products Limited Vs. Commissioner of Commercial Tax [2018 (13) G.S.T.L. 135 (All.)] = 2017 (9) TMI 677 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT. Hence, we first proceed to examine as to what is rent-a-cab. 11. As per information available on website https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cab, Cab means Cab or CAB may refer to: Transport[edit] * Cab (locomotive), the driving compartment of a locomotive * Cab car * Cabin (truck), an enclosed space in a truck where the driver is seated * Cabriolet (carriage) (obsolete), a type of horse-drawn carriage * Causeway Bay Station, Hong Kong; MTR station code CAB * Civil Aeronautics Board * Constructions Aéronautiques du Béa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re designed to carry passengers, irrespective of their capacity to carry passengers. The contentions of the applicant that hiring of buses which can carry large number of passengers would not qualify under "rent-a-cab" is found to be untenable and the activitiy of the contractor in the instant case, providing buses or cars on hire to the applicant, is specifically covered under the meaning of "rent-a-cab", which makes the impugned supply as ineligible for ITC in terms of Section 17(5) of the CGST/HGST Act, 2017. 14. In the Case of Commissioner of Service Tax Vs. Vijay Travels [2014 (36) S.T.R. 513 (Guj.)] = 2015 (1) TMI 809 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT, the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat, observed as under: Words and Phrases - Rent - It means the act of payment for the use of something Renting means a usually fixed periodical return, especially, an agreed sum paid at fixed intervals by a person for any use of the property or car - It is also the amount paid by a hirer to the owner for the use of the property or a car - On facts, Legislature not having made distinction between renting and hiring for levy of Service Tax, Rent-a-Cab Scheme Operator liable therefor - Sections 65(91), 65(105)( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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