𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 📢 The Tribunal held: "Ocean freight for goods imported under CIF contracts is not taxable under service tax."

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆: M/s RGI Meditech Pvt. Ltd. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: The appellant initially paid service tax on ocean freight provided by a foreign supplier but later filed for a refund, claiming no service tax liability existed on ocean freight under reverse charge mechanism.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: A show-cause notice was issued, proposing to reject the refund, arguing that the appellant was liable for service tax as the service recipient. ⚖️ 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲: Whether the appellant is liable to pay service tax on ocean freight for goods imported under CIF contracts?

⚖️ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The Tribunal cited SAL Steel Ltd. v. Union of India (2020), holding that the appellant is not liable for service tax on ocean freight under CIF contracts. The plea that goods were imported under CIF contracts was not disputed by the revenue. Therefore, the appeal was allowed.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: M/s RGI Meditech Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise & Service Tax, Noida 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 04 December 2023 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗼.70493 of 2020 📜 This ruling confirms that service tax on ocean freight is not applicable in cases of CIF contracts.