The Commissioner Of Customs & Central ... vs M/S. Ultratech Cements Ltd on 8 October, 2012
6. I find that it is settled that outdoor catering service is an admissible input service, however credit can be allowed only on the portion of cost which is born by the manufacturer. The cost which is recovered from the employees, cenvat attributed to that portion cannot be allowed as held by the Honble Bombay High Court in the case of Ultratech Cement Ltd. (supra). The fact that whether the cost was recovered from the employees and quantum thereof, was not considered by lower authority, therefore the matter needs to be remanded to verify this fact. As regard the judgments relied upon by the Ld. Counsel on the issue that the fact whether the cost of food recovered from the employees or otherwise was not raised in the show cause notice, same cannot be raised at this stage. I find that the issue raised in the show cause notice is admissibility of cenvat credit on the outdoor catering service. As regard the cost of food recovered from the employees, it only decides the quantum of the cenvat credit which is admissible. Therefore, in my considered view, it is not a fresh issue as the same coexists in the issue of admissibility of cenvat on outdoor catering service. Moreover the judgment of Ultratech Cement squarely covered the issue, accordingly I do not agree with the Ld. Counsel on the point that it is a fresh issue which was not covered in the show cause notice and raised first time at this stage. As per the above discussion, I remand the matter to the adjudicating authority to quantify the actual credit allowable to respondent as per my above observation.