Tabassum Enterprises Vs Commissioner of CGST & CX (CESTAT Kolkata)
The appellant, a proprietorship concern engaged in arranging transportation of goods, filed an appeal against the order confirming service tax demand under the category of Goods Transport Agency (GTA) service. Although registered under GTA service, the appellant did not issue consignment notes. The Department relied on information received from the CBDT showing higher “sale of services” in the appellant’s Income Tax Returns for the financial years 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18, while the appellant had declared nil taxable value in its ST-3 returns. Based solely on this data, the Department alleged suppression of taxable value, issued a show cause notice demanding service tax of ₹25,10,850 with interest and penalty, and, after appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the demand to the extent of ₹21,57,962 along with interest and equal penalty.
The appellant contended that the demand was based entirely on CBDT data without any independent or corroborative evidence to establish that taxable GTA services had actually been provided. It further argued that it merely arranged transportation of goods and never issued consignment notes. Therefore, its services did not qualify as GTA services and were covered by the Negative List under Section 66D(p)(i)(A) of the Finance Act, 1994. The appellant also challenged the invocation of the extended period of limitation, submitting that the entire demand was based on information already available with the Department through the CBDT.
