TMI Blog2023 (12) TMI 782X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... appellant for machining and grinding after which they were sent to the Delhi Metro for laying of railway tracks. Such services would clearly fall under commissioning or installation of original works. Commissioning would means to bring something newly produced such as a factory or machine into working condition. This is what was carried out by the appellant. The work carried out by the appellant was also necessary without which the railway tracks could not have been supplied as per the technical specifications. The appellant was clearly exempted from payment of service tax under Entry No. 14 of the exemption notification. The adjudicating authority was justified in granting refund - Appeal allowed. - HON BLE SHRI JUSTICE DILIP GUPTA, PRESIDENT AND HON BLE SHRI P.V. SUBBA RAO, MEMBER (TECHNICAL) APPEARANCE For the Appellant : Shri Sanjiv Agarwal, Chartered Accountant. For the Department : Shri S.K. Meena, Authorized Representative (DR) . JUSTICE DILIP GUPTA The appellant M/s Voestalpine VAE VKN India Pvt. Ltd. has filed this appeal for setting aside the order dated 26.12.2016 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals). This order of the Commissioner (Appea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n (i) vide number G.S.R. 210 (E), dated the 17th March, 2012, the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts the following taxable services from the whole of the service tax leviable thereon under section 66B of the said Act. 14 (a) Services by way of construction, erection, commissioning, or installation of original works pertaining to, - an airport, port or railways, including monorail or metro . 6. The Assistant Commissioner, after examining the verification report submitted by the Range Officer which stated that the appellant had not taken any CENVAT credit in relation to the relevant invoices and that the appellant had also submitted a Certificate from a Chartered Accountant that the foreign company had not paid any service tax to the appellant, and after examining Entry No. 14 of the notification granted refund by the order dated 19.10.2015 holding that : On perusal of the documents available with the refund application, the following has been observed that :- (i) The refund application filed is within time in terms of section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1994 ; (ii) Declaration that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed such services to Delhi Metro Corporation Limited (DMRC) directly but to M/s Voestalpine VAE GMBH. 12. The respondents have laid emphasis on the words pertaining to in serial no. 14 of the list of exempted services. They have also referred to serial no. 12 of the said list which specifically gives exemption to service provided to the Government, local authority etc. by way of construction, erection etc. of civil structure. Reading serial no. 12 14 together makes it clear that exemption under serial no. 14 does not restrict benefit only if service is provided to airport, railway or metro. The benefit is available if service pertains to metro which is the case here. However, the service has to be by way of construction, erection, commissioning or installation of original work. The laying of rails was an original work. M/s Voestalpine VAE GMBH had received order from Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) for supply of Gauge Turnouts (Railway Track items). They imported materials parts such as rail, rail fittings, crossings other material and sent some of them to respondents for machining grinding etc. after which these were supplied to DMRC for erection installatio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing for the department have been considered. 11. As noticed above, V.V.S. had received an order from Delhi Metro for supply of Gauge Turnouts (Railway Track items) for its Jaipur and Faridabad Metro projects. The foreign company has a project office in India. The project office in India imported rail, rail fittings, crossing and other materials and sent some of it to the appellant for fabrication purpose (machining/grinding) after which the same was supplied to Delhi Metro. The work that was entrusted to the appellant was machining of rails/crossing which is important aspect without which the railway tracks cannot be supplied as per the specification. The Assistant Commissioner, after a careful analysis had come to a conclusion that the appellant would be exempted from payment of service tax under Entry No. 14 of the exemption notification. It is for this reason that the Assistant Commissioner directed for refund of service tax. 12. The Commissioner (Appeals), however, has denied the refund for the reason that the appellant had not provided services to Delhi Metro directly but to a foreign company namely V.V.S. The Commissioner (Appeals) also concluded that the services provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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