Vinoth Shipping Services Vs Commissioner of Central Excise & Service Tax (CESTAT Chennai)
The appeal came before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) pursuant to a remand by the Hon’ble High Court through judgment dated 02.03.2020 in Writ Petition No. 23308 of 2013. The High Court directed the Tribunal to dispose of the appeal on merits after granting an opportunity of personal hearing.
The appellant was engaged in providing various services. Based on intelligence gathered by the Department, it was alleged that the appellant had failed to discharge service tax liability on services rendered under the category of “Cargo Handling Services.” The appellant stated that it had provided cargo handling services only to M/s. Aspinwall and Company Ltd. (M/s. ACL) as a sub-contractor. According to the appellant, M/s. ACL had discharged the entire service tax liability, collected service tax from its customers, and raised consignment notes directly on the customers. The appellant’s role was confined to transporting imported goods from the port to the godown and transporting export goods from the exporters’ premises to the port.
The Department viewed the appellant as an independent service provider and issued a show cause notice dated 03.12.2009 proposing recovery of service tax, interest and penalties for the period 2006-07. The adjudicating authority confirmed the demand with interest and imposed penalties, leading to the present appeal.
