In Brief
A manufacturing company was assessed for service tax on activities comprising erection, installation and commissioning of machinery at customer sites for the period July 1997 to December 2000. The Revenue argued these constituted consulting engineer services. The Tribunal (by majority) disagreed, finding them to be 'works contracts'. The Supreme Court upheld the Tribunal, holding that such activities—even if accompanied by incidental design or technical advice—do not constitute consulting engineering services and therefore attract no service tax liability under the Central Excise Tariff Act.
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