Water Supply to Ships Treated as Taxable Service Due to Composite Billing Elements

Sea Shipping Services Vs Commissioner of C.E. & S.T (CESTAT Ahmedabad) The case concerns the taxability of amounts collected by the appellant for supply of water to vessels and whether such activity constitutes a taxable “port service” under the Finance Act, 1994 or a non-taxable sale of goods. The appellant, registered under various service categories including port services, issued debit notes to customers for reimbursement of water supply charges amounting to ₹66,25,250 but did not pay service tax on these amounts. A show cause notice dated 24.09.2014 was issued proposing recovery...