9911796707
TMI Blog2025 (3) TMI 428X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... part from the various steel plants and captive mines, the company has extensive marketing network known as Central Marketing Organisation (CMO), spread across the length and breadth of the country. CMO through its Branch Sales Offices and stockyards sells the iron and steel products manufactured from steel plants. 2.3 The company is having its Transport & Shipping Offices (T&S) under CMO. T&S Offices are engaged in the assignment of export of iron and steel products and import of goods like coal and other plants and machineries. 2.4 The company has individual centers handling Research & Development, Engineering & Technology, Environment Management, Coal Supply, Management etc. as well as different Offices situated across the country. 2.5 All these offices are rendering services, which are related to manufacture, sale and distribution of iron &steel products. For example - (i) CMO is doing the marketing of Iron & steel products for all the steel plants (ii) Transport & Shipping is importing coal for all the steel plants (iii) Environment Division is looking after the pollution control norms for all the plants. Without clearance from Pollution Control Board the units cannot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 11/Commr/Bol/1 2 dated 07.03.2012 April 2011 to December, 2011 3,78,18,942 7,54,874 3,77,437 3,89,51,253 69/Commr/ST/Bo l/12 dated 06.01.2013 January 2012 to August, 2012 corrected by Corrigendum to SCN 1,80,41,203 3,60,523 1,80,142 1,85,81,868 Total 28,71,36,649 62,12,930 19,78,330 29,53,27,909 2.8 It was alleged in all the SCNs that SAIL - DSP had contravened the provisions of Rules 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 of the Cenvat Credit Rules and Rule 4A of the Service Tax Rules during the specified periods from April 2004 to December 2015 by irregularly availing cenvat credit,amounting to a total of Rs. 94,69,90,458/-, of the service tax paid on various services like Telephone Service, GTA service, Port service, repair and Maintenance service, service provided by Air Travel Agent, Security service, insurance Service, Consulting Service, Cargo handling, Technical testing and analysis, Advertisement Services etc: received by different offices of SAIL and Bolani Iron Ore Mines and credit which were passed on to SAIL-DSP by the said offices of SAIL and Bolani Ore Mines through ISD invoices issued under Rule 4A of the Service Tax Rules. The Show Cause Notices required SAIL-DSP to show ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... matter is whether the CENVAT Credit availed by the appellant on intellectual property service can be denied, when the Input Service Distributor (ISD) i.e., TSL, Kolkata has availed CENVAT Credit and distributed the credit to the appellant as an ISD and the availment of CENVAT Credit at the end of TSL, Kolkata has not been disputed by the Revenue, or not. 9. We find that the said issue was dealt with by this Tribunal in the case of M/s. Nalco Water India Ltd. (supra) wherein this Tribunal has held as under: - "10. Further, we find that all the services in question, on which the Head Office has availed cenvat credit and distributed to the appellants in proportionate in terms of Rule 7 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, the cenvat credit cannot be denied to the appellant as held by this Tribunal in the case of Balkrishna Industries Limited (supra), wherein this Tribunal has held as under : "4. From the facts, it emerges that appellant is having its office in Mumbai and as per definition of „input services‟ distributor as per Rule 2(m) which is reproduced herein as under : "(m) "input service distributor" means an office of the manufacturer or producer of final prod ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urer of goods or provider of output services as a whole and not restricted to any particular unit of the manufacturer/service provider. 8. The combined reading of the Rule 7 and the clarificatory Circular dated 23-8-2007 clearly shows that there are only two restrictions regarding the distribution of the credit. The first restriction is that the credit should not exceed the amount of Service Tax paid. The second restriction is that the credit should not be attributable to services used in manufacture of exempted goods or providing of exempted services. There are no other restrictions under the rules. The restrictions sought to be applied by the Department in this case in limiting the distribution of the Service Tax credit made in respect of the Malur Unit on the ground that the services were used in respect of the Cuttack Unit finds no mention in the relevant rules. As such, restricting the distribution of Service Tax credit in a manner as has been done by the impugned order of the lower appellate authority (original authority had approved of such distribution) cannot be upheld. In case the Department wants to place such restriction as is sought to be placed in the case, the rule ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed services." 7. As the services has been availed at the head office and same is a part of the appellant itself as a manufacturer. Therefore, I hold that appellant has availed the input service credit correctly. Consequently, the impugned order is set aside. Appeal is allowed with consequential relief, if any." 11. Further, in the case of Nestle India Limited (supra), this Tribunal again has examined the issue and has observed as under : "4. I have carefully considered the submissions made by both the sides, I find that the fact is not under dispute that though input service on which the credit was disputed was not used in the factory of the appellant but it is related to the product Nescafe and Maggie Noodles which are manufactured in the appellant company‟s different factory. As regards the provision for distribution of the credit, there is no condition of one-to-one correlation between the credit distributed and the quantum of service received and used by a particular factory. Though the service is related to the product which is manufactured in the appellant‟s company in other factories. But all the factories belonging to one company and in the absence of any ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nces, the cenvat credit cannot be recovered from the appellants holding that the appellant has availed inadmissible cenvat credit. In fact, the appellant has availed cenvat credit on the invoices issued by ISD under Rule 7 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, which is eligible to avail the cenvat credit under Rule 9 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. 13. Therefore, we do not find any merit in the impugned orders and the same are set aside. 14. In the result, the appeals are allowed with consequential relief, if any." 9.1. As it is an admitted fact that the availment of CENVAT Credit on intellectual property service was not disputed at the end of the ISD/TSL, Kolkata, the CENVAT Credit cannot be declared as inadmissible CENVAT Credit to the appellant who has taken the CENVAT Credit on the strength of the invoices issued by the ISD. In these circumstances, we hold that the appellant is entitled to take CENVAT Credit and accordingly, there is no requirement of reversal of CENVAT Credit by the appellant. 9.2. Therefore, the impugned order deserves no merit and thus, the same is set aside." 8. In view of the above, we find that as the distribution of cenvat credit to the respon ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
