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TMI Blog2008 (11) TMI 163X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Bus Operators Association of Tamil Nadu v. Union of India 2001 (134) ELT 618/[2007] 6 STT 49 and strangely the same judgment has been relied upon by the revenue to submit that the respondents are liable to pay service tax. 2. No one has appeared on behalf of the respondents. The ld. JDR reiterates the points mentioned in the appeal filed by the revenue. 3. We have considered the points put forth by the revenue in their appeal. After examining various statutory provisions of Finance Act, 1994 and Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Rules framed thereunder, revenue has submitted that "tour operator means any person engaged in the business of operating tour in a tourist vehicle covered by a permit granted under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 or the rules ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... has relied upon Paras 28, 29, 30 and 31 of the same judgment. However, we find that the paragraphs 24, 36 and paras 41 and 42 are relevant to the issue and therefore the same are reproduced below :- "24. However, it must be remembered that in the present case, we are not concerned with the two kind of permits. The question posed before us is whether a vehicle covered under section 72(2)(xvii) of the Motor Vehicles Act can be viewed as a tourist vehicle. The question is not as to whether a permit under section 88(8) would ipso facto become a permit covering a contract carriage. It has to be borne in mind that a tourist vehicle as defined under section 2(43) of the Motor Vehicles Act, which definition has been picked up as it is by the Finan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... el for the department very fairly accepted this position. However, he pointed out that it would be for the petitioners to raise their objections before the concerned authorities under the Finance Act and their objections would be decided upon. Therefore, the petitioners are permitted to raise the objections before the concerned authorities issuing the notices and the authorities will decide as to whether the petitioners' vehicles are the 'tourist vehicles' as contemplated under section 2(43) of the Motor Vehicles Act, which is sine qua non for the application of the Finance Act. Needless to mention that if they are not the 'tourist vehicles', the provisions of the Finance Act would not apply and more particularly the provisions of section 6 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es Act, would be straightaway liable to be dismissed and are dismissed as such. 42. Even if the petitioners permits are only under section 74 of the Motor Vehicles Act for contract carriage, that would not save the petitioners because what is required is not a 'tourist permit' but a 'user of a tourist vehicle' by the tour operator in his business and further such 'tourist vehicle' should have been covered under a permit granted under the Motor Vehicles Act and/or the Rules framed thereunder. There would be, therefore, no question of treating the holders of the permits under section 74 of the Act for the contract carnage in any different manner." (pp. 66-72 of STT) 5. From the above paragraphs it is quite clear that unless the vehicle of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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