M SUGANTHI Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order disposes of these writ petitions in which a common question arises as to whether the Petitioner, a stage carriage operator having a spare bus permit is liable to be brought under the tax net for payment of service tax in respect of such spare bus.

(2.) The facts which are necessary for the disposal of writ petitions are that the Petitioners are stage carriage operators having been issued permits by the Regional Transport Authority, Pollachi. All the Petitioners have a spare bus permit to be operated in the place of the route bus in case of break down or for special occasion. The Respondent issued a notice directing the Petitioner to register themselves under the provision of the Finance Act, 1994, for payment of service tax on the ground that they are tour operators coming under the definition of Section 65(78) of Finance Act, 1994, (Act 32 of 94). It appears that the Petitioners and other such notice's challenged the action of the Department by filing writ petitions before this Court. The writ petitions were heard by a Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court and such of those writ petitions filed by stage carriage operators and rent-a-car-scheme operators were dismissed by the Hon'ble Division Bench by its judgment in The Secretary Federation of Bus Operators Association of Tamil Nadu v. Union of India,2001 2 MadLJ 590 . The Hon'ble Division Bench in paragraph 36 of the judgment dealt with the arguments advanced by the persons holding spare bus permit. At this stage, it is relevant to note the direction issued by the Hon'ble Division Bench which is as follows:

(3.) It appears that after the order passed by the Hon'ble Division Bench, representations were submitted by the individual operators having spare bus permits as well as the Pollachi District Bus owners Association requesting the Respondent to abide by the decision of the Hon'ble Division Bench and not to demand any service tax from operators holding spare bus permits. The Petitioners also submitted representations to the Respondents to the same effect.